In the early hours of June 1, 2019, a party at a residence on Crisp Road in Whitesville, Kentucky, turned tragic, resulting in the death of 16-year-old Amarius Winstead. The male teenager, who resided in Evansville, Indiana, and attended Bosse High School, was at the gathering with friends. The party, hosted by a teenager, grew larger than anticipated as uninvited individuals arrived.
Shortly after midnight, at approximately 12:30 a.m., gunfire erupted at the party.
In the ensuing chaos, Amarius Winstead was shot in the abdomen. Another teenager, 18-year-old Jasper Brown, was also fatally shot, sustaining multiple gunshot wounds. A third victim, 19-year-old Tyler Glover, was wounded in the shooting but survived after undergoing surgery. Emergency services were called, and while Brown was rushed to the hospital by other partygoers, Winstead and Glover were transported by ambulance. Despite medical efforts, Amarius Winstead was pronounced dead at Owensboro Health Regional Hospital at 1:21 a.m. An autopsy later determined that his death was caused by internal bleeding from the single gunshot wound.
The investigation into the deadly shooting was conducted by the Daviess County Sheriff's Office, who located ten shell casings at the scene. Their investigation led them to a suspect, Chase Simmons, who was 17 years old at the time of the incident. Simmons was arrested on June 6, 2019, and subsequently charged with two counts of murder for the deaths of Amarius Winstead and Jasper Brown, and one count of second-degree assault for the shooting of Tyler Glover.
In June 2022, the case against Chase Simmons went to trial. During the trial, testimony was heard from the surviving victim, Tyler Glover, as well as other individuals who were present at the party. Witnesses testified to Simmons's behavior on the night of the shooting, with some stating he had smoked marijuana and others claiming he was 'tripping on acid.' The prosecution presented evidence that included cellphone photographs of Simmons with firearms. Following the trial, the jury found Chase Simmons guilty on all charges. He was sentenced to a total of 60 years in prison, consisting of two consecutive 30-year sentences for the murder convictions and a concurrent five-year sentence for the assault conviction. In December 2023, the Kentucky Supreme Court affirmed the conviction and sentence of Chase Simmons.
