Woman Pleads Guilty to Involuntary Manslaughter After Fatally Shooting Younger Brother in 2024
NORFOLK, Va. — Kiana Tyshea Ewell, 31, pleaded guilty on Friday to involuntary manslaughter for shooting and killing her younger brother, 24-year-old Kimaun Tyrese Ewell, in a parking lot during an altercation last year. Ms. Ewell was sentenced to five years in prison with all active incarceration suspended, except the four months she already served in jail following her arrest.
Around 5 a.m. on June 16, 2024, Ms. Ewell’s gun discharged while Mr. Ewell was fighting with her outside a McDonald’s restaurant on Shore Drive. Mr. Ewell was shot once in his abdomen and was pronounced dead after he was transported to Sentara Norfolk General Hospital.
On the night of June 15, Ms. Ewell, Mr. Ewell, and three others were visiting Norfolk from the Richmond area to enjoy a night out together, and the group stayed out until the early morning hours of June 16. Ms. Ewell had been driving the group throughout the night, and around 5 a.m. she pulled into the McDonald’s parking lot while the group debated whether split up or head back to Richmond. After a disagreement between the siblings, everyone but Ms. Ewell exited the vehicle, and Ms. Ewell drove off only to return moments after.
When Ms. Ewell pulled up near the group, Mr. Ewell walked up to the driver’s side of the car and began assaulting Ms. Ewell while she remained seated inside. Ms. Ewell had a concealed handgun inside the cross-body bag that she was wearing at the time, and Mr. Ewell had a concealed handgun in his waistband. Ms. Ewell’s gun discharged one time, fatally hitting her brother in the abdomen. After Mr. Ewell was shot, he stumbled away from the car and collapsed in a grassy area of the parking lot. Ms. Ewell immediately got out of the car and tried to give her brother CPR, and a witness who introduced herself as a nurse cared for Mr. Ewell until medics arrived. Mr. Ewell was later pronounced dead at the hospital.
Norfolk Police initially charged Ms. Ewell with second-degree murder and using a firearm in the commission of murder, and Ms. Ewell was held in the Norfolk City Jail without bond for about four months following the shooting. The final review of the investigation, however, showed no evidence of Ms. Ewell having had the malice necessary to make Mr. Ewell’s homicide a murder; the evidence pointed toward an accidental shooting rather than an intentional one, making the crime no more than involuntary manslaughter.
In complying with the Virginia Victims Bill of Rights, the Commonwealth consulted with the Ewells’ family members, who advocated for Ms. Ewell’s release on bond and expressed their strong preference that Ms. Ewell be sentenced to serve no more time in custody for this crime. Recognizing the facts of the case and the importance of respecting the wishes of victims, prosecutors offered Ms. Ewell a plea agreement in which she would plead guilty to felony involuntary manslaughter and receive a five-year suspended sentence with credit for the four months’ incarceration Ms. Ewell had already served. That sentence was in agreement with Ms. Ewell’s Virginia Sentencing Guidelines, which called for probation and no incarceration.
On Friday, Ms. Ewell pleaded guilty to the amended charge of involuntary manslaughter, and Judge Robert B. Rigney accepted her plea agreement and sentenced her accordingly.
“I grieve for the family of Mr. and Ms. Ewell, brother and sister, because they faced a double tragedy: the loss of their son to death and the potential loss of their daughter to prison,” said Commonwealth’s Attorney Ramin Fatehi. “Many prosecutors ‘listen to victims’ when victims call for blood and ‘know better’ when victims call for mercy and understanding. In Norfolk, we actually listen. We have held Ms. Ewell accountable for her actions and respected her family’s absolutely understandable desire not to lose their daughter to the system. We have served justice, and we hope that the Ewells’ family can come together and heal from this tragic series of events.”
Assistant Commonwealth’s Attorney Abigail L. Ottinger and Deputy Commonwealth’s Attorney Cynthia D. Collard prosecuted Ms. Ewell’s case, and Norfolk Police Detective Matthew M. Nordan led the investigation.
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