Autopsy brings to light additional details in Maury County triple-homicide
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Autopsy reports released Monday by the Office of the Tennessee State Chief Medical Examiner provided additional details into the October killing of three family members in Maury County.
During the early morning hours of Oct. 1, Kailee Grace Warren, an 11-year-old student at Battle Creek Elementary School, was shot inside a home on the 2100 block of Double Branch Road in north Columbia. Also killed were her mother, Traci Louise McNeely, 44, and her half brother, Carson Glenn Pipkin, 20.
The newly-released autopsy report indicates Warren was laying face-up in bed with a cell phone in her left hand and a blanket pulled up to her waist when three slugs from a shotgun blast tore though her hand, chest and lower back.
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The examination of her brother’s body shows he suffered multiple gunshot wounds, including a slug to his left back, though his left shoulder and right side of his head and two shots to the right side of his chest, according to the autopsy.
He was found face-down on the back porch with his feet on the steps to the home, indicating that he may have been attempting to leave the house when he was killed.
McNeely also suffered multiple gunshot wounds including to her left back, upper arm and left hand.
Step-father escapes, alerts authorities
Their step-father, Jesse McNeely, 47, who was in the home at the time, escaped, running to a neighbor’s home where he contacted local authorities, according to the Maury County Sheriff’s Department.
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The autopsy summarized that Traci Louise McNeely may have heard an argument between her two sons, followed by gunfire, at which point she exited her bedroom for dining room where she was later found deceased.
Suspect in custody on probable cause
A Maury County court has since determined there is probably cause that Nathaniel Pipkin, 22, is responsible for the deaths of his family members and the attempted murder of his step-father.
Pipkin remains held in the Maury County Jail.
Testimony shared by Maury County Sheriff Bucky Rowland and MCSD Lt. Roscoe Voss during a November hearing explained local authorities identified the location of the defendant's cellular phone.
The phone's location indicated Pipkin fled the home, following the shooting then traveled by car to Nashville where he visited a Planet Fitness, located on Charlotte Pike.
He spent approximately 30 minutes at the gym before traveling south on I-24 toward Chattanooga.
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Pipkin was located by members of the Monteagle Police Department.
Police identified his car, a silver Mustang, by confirming the license plate. A traffic stop was initiated, and Pipkin was taken into custody.
Voss stated that Pipkin was in possession of multiple firearms, including a semi-automatic shotgun. When he was apprehended by police officers, about 100 miles from Columbia, Pipkin was wearing a protective ballistic vest.
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His car was transported to Maury County where it was searched by investigators after a warrant was obtained.
Inside the vehicle, authorities discovered a pistol, a semi-automatic shotgun with the same ammunition located at the scene of the crime, a ballistic helmet and a ballistic shield.
Inside Pipkin's bedroom, in the home, authorities found additional ammunition, as well as a .45 caliber handgun and multiple ammunition rounds.
The case, which has been transferred to Circuit Court Judge Christopher Sockwell, will now be reviewed by the jury, a body of citizens who will investigate potential criminal conduct and determine whether criminal charges should be brought against Pipkin.
Maury County Court Clerk Sandy McClain confirmed a grand jury has upheld the decision and Pipkin is scheduled to be arraigned in court on Dec. 30.
Reach Mike Christen at mchristen@c-dh.net. Follow him on Twitter at @MikeChristenCDH and on Instagram at @michaelmarco. Please consider supporting his work and that of other Daily Herald journalists by subscribing to the publication.
This article originally appeared on The Daily Herald: Autopsy brings to light details of Double Branch slayings
