The trial of Robin Howington, a 41-year-old Knoxville mother accused of fatally shooting her child, began with opening statements and early testimony on Monday. Howington faces charges of felony murder, attempted tampering with evidence, aggravated child neglect, and false reporting related to the September 2019 death of her 5-year-old daughter, Destiny Oliver, at their home in Fountain City. WATE reported that in addition to the charge of felony murder, which implies a killing carried out in the course of another felony, court records indicate Howington has offered several differing accounts to the investigators, including blaming an unknown intruder and the child's biological father.
During the initial phase of the trial, prosecutors presented evidence suggesting Howington tried to manipulate the crime scene by wiping and hiding the gun used in her daughter's shooting. According to court documents mentioned during opening statements, Howington admitted to destroying her cellphone while in a hospital bathroom and admitted to wiping down and hiding the firearm after the shooting, as she was "scared about it containing evidence of drug sales." This critical testimony, highlighted by Court TV, paints a picture of a troubled scenario filled with deceit attempting to misdirect the police investigation.
The defense has filed a motion to suppress Howington's statement to the police, arguing that it was involuntary given her state of distress and claiming that she had been assaulted by a police officer, which allegedly influenced her state during the interview. According to Court TV, Howington also alleged mistreatment during her interrogation, where one officer reportedly shouted after her while another "hugged her without an invitation."
Further complicating the case, Howington has also pointed to her two-year-old son as the one who accidentally shot his sister. However, prosecutors Franklin Ammons and Ashley McDermott told jurors that the evidence implicates Howington as the individual who sought to hide the murder weapon under a bush outside the house immediately after the shooting. Among the evidence, messages were found on Howington's phone about selling narcotics, reportedly uncovered in previous testimony and reported by WBIR.
