A 20-year-old woman from Powell has been charged with first-degree murder following a fatal shooting incident involving her boyfriend. The charged woman, identified as Dsani Badgett, allegedly shot her boyfriend, Stephen Morgan, after claiming to have found evidence of infidelity. The shooting took place at their residence on Weaver Hollow Way, according to a WVLT News police report. Police say Badgett waited for Morgan to return home from work before confronting him, which led to a physical struggle over the firearm and ultimately the shooting.
Per the accounts reported by WBIR, Badgett utilized Morgan's phone, which he had been using after his broke, to uncover evidence of his alleged affair through a Yahoo! account. In an apparent attempt to emphatically deal with the betrayal, Badgett brandished the gun, racking it several times to indicate it was loaded, and then demanded Morgan to "do things regarding the situation of their relationship." These details emerged as deputies responded to Badgett's screams for help from her driveway shortly before the confrontation escalated inside the home.
Stephen Morgan was found unresponsive by arriving officers and deputies, with gunshot wounds to his chest and hand, and was pronounced dead at the scene. Knox News reports that after the incident, Badgett has been taken into custody and now faces the weighty charge of first-degree murder.
Police documents reveal that in the heated moments before the fatal shot was fired, Morgan attempted to grab the gun from Badgett. This detail was key to the events as outlined by WBIR, with Badgett alleging that it was during this struggle that she discharged the weapon. The Knox County Sheriff's Office stated that after being booked into the Roger D. Wilson Detention Facility, Badgett now awaits further legal proceedings related to the charge of murder following an argument marred by accusations of infidelity and a fatal conclusion.
