In the fall of 2016, the life of 27-year-old Stedman Coulter Baird was brought to a tragic and violent end in his Evansville, Indiana, apartment. On the night of October 18th, what began as a tumultuous evening fueled by drug use culminated in his death from a single gunshot wound to the back of the head. Baird, a father and son, was killed by his girlfriend, Chauna Reed, in the residence they shared on Plantation Court.
The events leading to the fatal shooting were fraught with
conflict. Earlier in the day, Baird and Reed had been embroiled in arguments over domestic issues. According to court records, the night was further clouded by the use of methamphetamine and cocaine. Reed later told investigators that she went to sleep with a. 40 caliber pistol under her pillow. She claimed to have been awakened multiple times by Baird, who told her she was talking in her sleep. Her memory of the critical moment was a flash and the sound of a gunshot.
The immediate aftermath of the shooting was set in motion by a 911 call from Reed's own mother, whom Reed had informed about the shooting. When police arrived at the apartment, they found Baird deceased. The scene itself told a story of the chaos that had unfolded, with officers discovering two handguns, 24 grams of suspected methamphetamine, and a small amount of suspected heroin. Reed initially approached officers at the scene and was taken in for questioning, where she made incriminating statements that led to her arrest. She also admitted to having thrown the handgun she used over a nearby privacy fence; it was later recovered by investigators.
Chauna Reed was arrested and faced a charge of murder, along with preliminary charges for dealing in methamphetamine. In the face of the evidence against her, she made a plea for leniency based on her state of intoxication, claiming her memory of the incident was impaired by drug use. However, a detective who interviewed her after the shooting testified that she spoke coherently and understood her rights, appearing unimpaired. A week before her trial was scheduled to begin, on September 12, 2017, Reed pleaded guilty to murder. As part of a plea agreement, she was sentenced to 45 years in prison, while additional charges for dealing methamphetamine and narcotics, along with a firearm enhancement, were dismissed. During her sentencing, Reed expressed remorse, stating that she loved Baird and did not know what had happened that night.
