In the late winter of 2017, a dispute in Oxford, Mississippi, escalated to a tragic conclusion, ending the life of 31-year-old Kenya Jawaan 'KJ' Hill. On the evening of March 9th, an argument broke out between Hill and another man, Chris Paten, at the Brittany Estate apartment complex. The verbal altercation turned violent when Paten allegedly shot Hill four times in the upper chest and head area.
Medics arrived to a scene of chaos and rushed Hill to the Regional One Medical Center in Memphis, Tennessee. For a week, he fought for his life, but his injuries proved too severe. Kenya Hill, a father of five, passed away.
In the wake of the shooting, law enforcement identified Chris Paten, also known as Chris Caine, as the primary suspect. An initial charge of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon was quickly upgraded to murder following Hill's death. Paten, however, had vanished, prompting a manhunt that would last for over two months. At the time of the shooting, Paten was already out on bail for a previous arrest in December 2015 on charges of armed robbery and being a felon in possession of a firearm. The U.S. Marshals Service Gulf Coast Regional Fugitive Task Force joined the search for the man now considered armed and dangerous.
The search for Chris Paten concluded in May 2017 when he was located and arrested by U.S. Marshals in Jackson, Mississippi. He was taken into custody without incident and transported back to Lafayette County to face the murder charge. In June 2017, a grand jury indicted Paten on one count of capital murder for the death of Kenya Hill. The legal proceedings culminated in April of the following year when Paten appeared in Lafayette County Circuit Court. In a plea agreement, the state reduced the charge to second-degree murder. Paten pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 35 years in prison, with 14 of those years suspended. He is expected to serve 21 years, followed by five years of probation.
