On May 9, 2016, a 28-year-old woman named Amber Lynn Stepp was found shot to death inside a car in Louisville, Kentucky, near the intersection of South 25th and Rowan Streets. The investigation into her death centered around a silver Ford found in the middle of the street. An autopsy later confirmed that a gunshot wound was the cause of her death.
Amber's life was a complex story.
According to her mother, Loretta Gribbins, Amber had struggled with drug use and criminal activity from a young age, facing charges that included wanton endangerment, shoplifting, and drug offenses. These struggles led to a difficult life, and her mother had long feared that she would receive a call about her daughter being found dead. Despite these challenges, her family remembered her as a funny, energetic, and giving person who had attended Ivy Tech and Indiana University Southeast. In the days leading up to her death, there were signs of hope. She had been spending more time with her two young children and had celebrated Mother's Day with her family just the day before she was killed.
In the months following the shooting, a break in the case occurred. A Jefferson County grand jury indicted Brandon Williamson in connection with Amber's death, charging him with complicity to murder and possession of a handgun by a convicted felon. At the time the charges were brought against him, Williamson was already in jail. He had been arrested in June of that year after a traffic stop for a license plate violation, during which he fled from officers who then discovered a gun in the car. Authorities initially believed that more than one suspect could have been involved in the shooting. As the legal process moved forward, Williamson was held on a $500,000 cash bond.
