Relatives Plead For New Leads In Drive-By Killing Of Nursing Student Who Was Getting Ready To Graduate
Jesse M. Averitt was killed when 18 bullets were fired into the Ketucky home he shared with his partner of a decade.
The mother and sister of a Kentucky nursing student are pleading for new leads in his fatal drive-by shooting earlier this year.
Jesse M. Averitt was killed on March 4 in his Lexington home after he was struck by shots fired from outside in the middle of the night, a press release from the Lexington Police Department states. The 28-year-old University of Kentucky nursing student was transported to a nearby hospital where he was pronounced dead.
A whopping 18 bullets hit the house where Averitt was killed while playing video games, local outlet FOX 56 reports. His partner of more than a decade, Brandon, was home at the time and unharmed.
“A witness reported seeing a vehicle leave the area at a high rate of speed immediately after the shooting” and police believe that it was a drive-by shooting. They do not think that Averitt was the intended target.
While investigators hesitate to use the word “cold,” as FOX 56 reports, the case has remained unsolved.
“It’s not completely cold, but we don’t know who did it,” Crime Stoppers coordinator Anthony Delimpo told the outlet.
Averitt’s mother Lea Ann Lewis and his sister Hannah Averitt are now begging for fresh leads. The grieving sibling told FOX 56 that Jesse was just months away from graduating and was preparing to buy his first house with Brandon.
"And someone took that from him,” she said. “Like his life meant nothing and I just don’t accept that.”
Lewis reflected on when she said goodbye to her son at the hospital.
“I went in and kissed him goodbye and rubbed his hair,” she told FOX 56. “It was just a horrible, horrible day.”
Just before that, her son's partner called her in distress.
“His partner, Brandon, called me, and I was asleep and didn’t hear the phone ring,” she recalled. “He said, ‘Jesse’s been shot! Jesse’s been shot!’ and I was like, I’m dreaming. This is not really happening.”
Anyone with information about the murder is urged to call the Crime Stoppers tip line at 859-253-2020 or visit p3tips.com. Information can be completely anonymous and a tip could earn a person up to a $1,000 cash reward.