In the early morning hours of August 24, 2021, the life of 47-year-old Antonio Duane Hegg, a Black male, was tragically cut short in his Richmond, Indiana home. The events of that morning unfolded after Hegg returned to the residence he shared with his girlfriend, Sarah McKenzie Davis, around 4 a.m. He had been out with family at a bar and was reportedly intoxicated and upset upon his return.
After some yelling, he fell asleep on the couch.
While Hegg slept, a dark turn of events began to transpire. Davis, who was 41 at the time, was overcome with suicidal thoughts. She retrieved a revolver from a bedroom closet, loaded it, and sat on the floor next to the sleeping Hegg with the gun pointed at her own head, intending for its presence to be a deterrent from self-harm. When Hegg suddenly awoke and questioned what she was doing, she moved the gun away from her head. In that moment, the firearm accidentally discharged, striking Hegg in the right side of his head.
A frantic 911 call was made by Davis immediately following the shooting. When officers from the Richmond Police Department arrived at the home on South 7th Street at approximately 9:52 a.m., they discovered Hegg slumped on the couch and Davis screaming and crying inside the house. Medical personnel pronounced Hegg dead at the scene.
The ensuing investigation led to the arrest of Sarah M. Davis. Although the investigation concluded that Davis had not intended to harm Hegg and that the shooting was accidental, she was charged with reckless homicide, a Level 5 felony. The Wayne County Prosecutor's Office pursued the charge due to the circumstances of the incident and her handling of the weapon. A judge set her bond at $50,000, with an enhanced bond requested due to her prior convictions for possession of cocaine and carrying a handgun without a license. Davis was subsequently booked into the Wayne County Jail.
