Recent Graduate's Life Ends in Devastating Turn — Suspect Taken Into Custody Months Later

A recent college grad had just landed the job she had dreamed about since childhood when a night in Alabama ended her life. The person who would eventually be charged with killing her was someone she trusted.

Whitney Harlow Robeson, 22, of Richmond, Virginia, had barely settled into her new role when she was shot and killed inside a Trussville, Alabama, home on March 7, 2026.

More than two months passed before police made an arrest, and when they did, the name on the warrant belonged to someone in her own inner circle.

Who Was Whitney?

Whitney was born on August 1, 2003, to parents Carin "Carrie" Grunkemeyer Robeson and J. Matthew Robeson. She grew up in Richmond as the middle of three children, between her older brother, Griffin Robeson, and her younger sister, Payton Robeson.

Her father called her his "middlest," his brown-eyed girl, and admired the way she approached every single thing she took on. If it was worth doing, she did it right.

Her mother, Carrie, was so similar to her in looks and personality that strangers sometimes stopped them while they were out shopping and mistook them for sisters.

The bond between the three siblings was ironclad. For Payton, Whitney was her best friend and the person she looked up to most. For Griffin, she was his confidant and the one who always told him what he needed to hear, even when it was hard.

Additionally, Whitney attended St. Bridget Catholic School from kindergarten through eighth grade, where her family says she built a foundation of faith and friendship that stayed with her for life.

She then enrolled at The Collegiate School, where she competed in field hockey, lacrosse, and swimming, graduated with honors in 2021, and earned a reputation as someone who brought out the best in the people around her.

She was, by every account, the kind of person who noticed things others missed. Her family described a moment during college when a close friend was quietly struggling, never having said a word about it.

Whitney reached out to check on her every day, and at some point, left a handwritten note on her friend's bedroom mirror with a verse from the New Testament. She never told anyone it was her. The only thing that gave it away was her characteristically immaculate and artful handwriting.

What Did She Build at Auburn?

Auburn University had been Whitney's first choice from the start, specifically for its interior design program. She arrived with a clear plan, a determined heart, and wasted no time making the place her own.

She pledged the Delta Gamma sorority, and her family watched with pride as she grew into, as they put it, "the bubbly, witty, and spontaneous person that she was always meant to become."

She had never followed college football before arriving in Alabama, but before long, she was cheering "War Eagle!" like she had grown up doing it.

During her junior year, Whitney studied abroad in Ariccia, a town just outside Rome, traveling across Italy and beyond. She came back more refined, more worldly, and, according to her obituary, with a serious talent for making lattes. She graduated Summa Cum Laude in May 2025 with her degree in interior design.

What Was She Doing in Alabama?

Just weeks before her death, Whitney had stepped into the role she had been working toward since she was a little girl watching HGTV. She had been hired as a Trade Consultant at Restoration Hardware in the Birmingham area, and the people she worked with had already taken notice.

Her new colleagues and supervisor were immediately struck by her kindness, talent, and integrity. She had arrived. And she had barely gotten started.

What Happened on March 7?

On that Saturday night, at approximately 9:30 p.m., officers from the Trussville Police Department responded to a call at the 7700 block of Deer Trail after a report of a person with a gunshot wound. When they arrived, they found Whitney.

She was rushed to a local hospital and later pronounced dead. The department's Criminal Investigations Division launched an investigation immediately, one that would stretch on for more than two months before producing an arrest.

Whitney's family held her visitation at Bliley's Funeral Home in Richmond on March 20, and her Memorial Mass took place the following day at St. Mary's Catholic Church.

Her family asked everyone who came to wear bright colors, because that was how she had lived. Instead of flowers, they directed donations to the Love Swaddle Mission at LovEvolve, a cause she had cared about deeply.

Who Did Police Charge?

Finally, on May 11, more than two months after Whitney was killed, the Trussville Police Department announced that detectives had obtained an arrest warrant through the Jefferson County District Attorney's Office.

The name on it was Jeffrey Scott Towers, 54, of Trussville. Towers is the father of Whitney's boyfriend. He was taken into custody the same day without incident and booked into the Jefferson County Jail on a manslaughter charge, with bond set at $30,000.

The Jefferson County coroner ruled the shooting accidental, though the specific circumstances of how Towers allegedly fired at his son's girlfriend have not been made public.

Towers had no prior criminal record. His attorneys, John Amari and Dain Stewart, released a statement calling him an "upstanding citizen" and pushing back firmly against the charge.

"What happened to Ms. Robeson was a tragic event," they said. "While we understand that the justice system must play out, we know that the facts will show that Mr. Towers has no criminal history, has been a productive and upstanding citizen for his entire life, and is not guilty of these charges."

The Trussville Police Department described the investigation leading to his arrest as "extensive." No further details about what took place inside the home that night have been released.

Unfortunately, another young woman lost her life in a similar way earlier this year. Lucy Harrison, 23, had travelled from Warrington, Cheshire, to visit her father in Prosper, near Dallas, earlier this year. Just hours later, she was dead from a single gunshot wound to the chest…

A Political Row That Spiraled

According to an inquest heard at Cheshire Coroner's Court and reported by the BBC, Lucy and her father, Kris Harrison, had been locked in a "big argument" about Donald Trump, who was preparing for his second inauguration at the time.

Her boyfriend, Sam Littler, who had travelled with her, told the court that politics wasn't the only sensitive topic, as Lucy would often become upset when her father spoke about owning a gun.

On the morning of January 10, 2026, tensions escalated dramatically…

During the heated exchange, Lucy asked her father a haunting question:

"How would you feel if I was [sic] the girl in that situation and I'd been sexually assaulted?"

The courtroom heard that Kris responded by saying he had two other daughters who lived with him, so it would not upset him that much. Lucy, understandably devastated, became "quite upset" and ran upstairs. But the day wasn't over…

Led Into the Bedroom and Then… Bang

Roughly half an hour before Lucy and Sam were due to leave for the airport, she was in the kitchen when her father took her by the hand and led her into his ground-floor bedroom.

According to Sam, fifteen seconds later, a loud bang rang out, followed by Kris screaming for his wife, Heather. When Sam rushed in, Lucy was lying on the floor near the bathroom entrance, while her father was "just screaming, just sort of nonsense."

Contradictingly, in a statement read to the court, Kris implied the shooting was accidental, as he said he and Lucy had been watching a news item about gun crime when he mentioned he owned a Glock 9mm semi-automatic handgun and asked if she wanted to see it.

The weapon, which he had bought a couple of years ago, he said, was kept in his bedside cabinet for a "sense of security." Then came his chilling account: "As I lifted the gun to show her [sic] I suddenly heard a loud bang. I did not understand what had happened."

Wine, Relapse, and CCTV

He added that Lucy "immediately fell" and admitted he could not recall whether his finger was on the trigger. Kris also denied ever speaking about the gun with his daughter. Upon peeling back more layers, the inquest revealed troubling details about the hours leading up to the shooting.

Kris, who moved to the U.S. when his daughter was a child, had previously been to rehab for alcohol addiction, and admitted he had relapsed that fateful day. He told the court he had drunk about 500ml of white wine because he was emotional about Lucy leaving.

Police officer Luciana Escalera, who was called to the house after the shooting, testified she noticed the smell of alcohol on his breath, and CCTV footage showed he had purchased two 500ml cartons of Chardonnay from a 7-Eleven shortly before 1 p.m.

Courtroom Tensions Rise

As legal tensions rose in court, Kris's solicitor even applied for the coroner to recuse herself, arguing the inquest felt "more akin to a criminal investigation than a fact-finding inquiry."

On the flipside, the representative for Lucy's mom, Jane Coates, Lois Norris, deemed the application an "ambush by Mr. Harrison's legal team."

A 'Force of Life' Remembered

Lois also stipulated that Kris was the "person in the room who shot Ms Harrison" and that he was the only one in the room when it occurred. The recusion request was denied. Meanwhile, Lucy's bereaved mom, Jane, described her daughter as a "real force of life."

"She cared. She was passionate about things. She loved to have debates about things that meant a lot to her," Jane said. Lucy worked as a buyer for fashion brand Boohoo and was remembered as warm, witty, and full of conviction.

In a separate statement reported by Sky News, Kris said, "I fully accept the consequences of my actions, and there isn't a day I don't feel the weight of that loss - a weight I will carry for the rest of my life and I know that nothing I say can ease the heartbreak this tragedy has caused."

"I cannot undo what happened, but I can honour Lucy by being the best father I can be to her sisters and by carrying her memory forward in everything we do," he added. "I am deeply sorry for the pain others feel from this tragedy. Lucy's spirit - her warmth, her humour, her kindness - will live on in all of us who loved her."

A Shocking Decision

But here is the twist that has left many reeling...

Despite police initially investigating Lucy's death as a possible case of manslaughter, no criminal charges were ever brought against Kris, as a grand jury in Collin County, Texas, declined to indict him.

That decision means the man who shot his daughter will not face a criminal trial. The inquest has been adjourned until some time today (Wednesday), when conclusions from the coroner are expected to be delivered.

And for many following this devastating case, one painful question lingers: how did a political argument, a glass of wine, and a gun in a bedside drawer turn into a life cut heartbreakingly short?

At this time, we wish to extend our most heartfelt condolences to the families of Witney and Lucy.