On a tragic evening in Salt Lake City, Utah, the life of a promising young student was cut short. Nicole Lee Kerby, a 16-year-old Caucasian female and a junior at Granger High School, was fatally shot in the head on November 19, 1997. The incident unfolded inside an apartment at 771 S. 200 East in the Central City neighborhood. Nicole, known for her talent as a dancer, was with several other people, including two children, when the fatal event occurred.
The person responsible for
Nicole's death was identified as 24-year-old Blake Christopher Tademy. Tademy, who was on probation at the time for a theft conviction, was recklessly handling a 9mm Glock handgun inside the apartment. According to witnesses, he had been carelessly aiming the weapon's laser sight at his friends. Despite being told to stop, he persisted in his dangerous behavior.
In a sequence of events that would lead to the tragedy, Nicole handed Tademy the bullets for the firearm, which he then loaded into the gun. With his finger on the trigger, Tademy discharged the weapon, and a single bullet struck Nicole in the head, ending her life. Following the shooting, Blake Christopher Tademy was arrested and faced multiple charges.
Several days after the incident, Tademy was taken into custody and charged with manslaughter, a second-degree felony, possession of a dangerous weapon by a restricted person, and tampering with evidence. As a condition of his parole, he was prohibited from owning a firearm. In June of 1998, Third District Judge Anne Stirba sentenced Tademy to the maximum term of 1 to 15 years in prison for manslaughter and reinstated his sentence for the prior theft conviction. The prosecutor, Carlos Esqueda, stressed that the shooting was a result of reckless conduct and not an accident, hoping the sentence would send a strong message.
