Prosecutors ruled a fatal December shooting on a DeKalb County roadway involving a Middle Tennessee State University professor self-defense.
District Attorney General Bryant Dunaway finalized the decision after receiving the autopsy results for 41-year-old Ashleigh McKinzie.
“Ultimately, yesterday was the final piece of the puzzle. The medical examiner report allowed us to complete our investigation,” Dunaway said.
The autopsy revealed McKinzie had toxic levels of methamphetamine in her system at the time of the incident. Just before sunrise, she stepped onto Smithville Highway and approached a driver who was on his way to work.
“She was armed, and he felt like his life was in danger, and he fired in self-defense,” Dunaway said.
Dunaway said the driver reported that McKinzie walked in front of his truck and pointed a handgun at him. Deputies discovered McKinzie dead in the roadway with a handgun, a mask and surveillance equipment located near her body.
“There was a rumor in the community that there was a relationship between them, but they met that morning by happenstance,” Dunaway said.
Authorities said the encounter was captured on unreleased surveillance video. The two individuals did not know each other prior to the encounter.
Investigators waited for the medical examiner to submit the findings before officially closing the case.