In Owensboro, Kentucky, Hannah Renai Benningfield Fuller was a young mother known for her vibrant personality. Her own mother remembered her as “the life of the party” and a great person who loved everybody. A 23-year-old White female, Hannah was a 2016 graduate of Apollo High School and was familiar to many in the community from her job at Mendy's Kitchen. She also worked as a hair and makeup artist. Hannah loved baking, cooking, and outdoor activities like riding dirt bikes and ATVs.
She especially looked forward to going deer hunting with her father. Above all, she cherished time with her family, and her children were the biggest joy in her life.
Hannah’s life was cut short in the late summer of 2021. On the morning of August 26, the Daviess County Sheriff’s Office asked Kentucky State Police to investigate a death at a home on West Fifth Street Road. When detectives arrived, they discovered Hannah’s body. She had sustained a fatal gunshot wound.
The investigation quickly focused on Hannah’s estranged husband, 36-year-old Joshua Fuller. Police determined that an altercation between the couple had occurred before she was shot. On September 13, 2021, nearly three weeks after Hannah’s death, state troopers located and arrested Joshua Fuller. He was lodged in the Daviess County Detention Center.
Fuller was charged with murder under domestic violence statutes and tampering with physical evidence. In November 2021, a Daviess County grand jury returned an indictment against him on both charges.
The case concluded when Joshua Fuller pleaded guilty to the murder of his wife and to tampering with physical evidence. A judge sentenced him to serve 24 years in prison. According to court officials, he must serve at least 20 years of that sentence before he becomes eligible for parole. With his conviction and sentencing, the case is closed.
