A 26-year-old guy in Tennessee could get life in prison for killing his ex-girlfriend, who was 22 years old and a medical student. She was shot and killed while she was walking for the American Cancer Society over the weekend.
Authorities said that Jackson Hopper was arrested on Sunday and charged with one count of first-degree murder in the brutal killing of Ellie Young.
Young, a student in medicine at the University of Tennessee Health Science Center, had been at the park for the “Making Strides Against Breast Cancer” event.
For sure, at 12:19 p.m. on Saturday, October 19, officers from the Shelby County Sheriff’s Office got a call about a murder that had happened at the Shelby Farms Visitor’s Center in the 6900 block of Great View Drive North in Memphis.
When first rescuers got to the scene, they said they saw an adult woman, later identified as Young, lying on the ground next to her Jeep Wrangler with what looked like multiple gunshot wounds. It says that around 12:36 p.m., emergency medical workers at the scene declared Young dead.
“People who saw what happened said they saw the victim park in a space on the lot.” The police report says that a white Honda CRV with a Kentucky Temp Tag was seen pulling up behind the victim’s Jeep.
“The white male driver of the Honda CRV fired two shots into the back of the Jeep passenger.” The woman came out of the Jeep Wrangler, and as she lay on the ground, the white male suspect fired at least one more shot at her. The person then got back into the white Honda and drove away.
As investigators worked on the crime scene, they found five empty 9-mm gun casings and three live 9-mm rounds.
Reading license plates at the park gate showed that Young arrived at 12:11 p.m., and the white Honda CRV was right behind him “within a few seconds.”
A person who was at the scene of the killing took a picture of the CRV’s license plate, which police said was from the car that followed Young into the parking lot.
Several of the victim’s family members arrived at the scene soon after police did. They told the detectives that Young had just broken up with her boyfriend, who they named Hopper.
Several police departments were given a “be on the lookout” (BOLO) message about the Honda CRV. Deputies from the Tipton County Sheriff’s Office and police from the Mason, Tennessee, Police Department found the car and chased it.
During the chase, the car crashed in Dyer County, and the driver, who was later identified as Hopper, was arrested.
A 9 mm pistol was found at the scene of the accident, according to the police.
He was taken to the central Shelby County Jail and is being held there without bond right now. Court papers looked at show that he went to court on Monday and pleaded not guilty to murder. At this point, Hopper is set to go back to court on Tuesday for a bond review meeting.
The sheriff’s office said that Hopper might be facing more charges soon.
Here is a GoFundMe page that you can use to help pay for Young’s funeral and monument.
The page says, “Ellie was a beautiful soul on the inside and out. She dedicated her life to helping others and was well on her way to becoming an amazing doctor.” “She was walking sunshine, and the world is less bright without her.”
