'It was an execution': Man who shot girlfriend in head, took her son found guilty

Kameryn Recchia's 3-year-old son awoke suddenly on the night of Oct. 20, 2021, saying "Daddy, don't shoot!" Ray Recchia, his grandfather, said the young boy was having a nightmare.

Just the day before, the boy's mother was shot by her boyfriend, Dillon Brewster, in what prosecutors described as an execution-style killing, before Brewster took off with the child.

Brewster, 28, was found guilty on Friday of murder, kidnapping and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. He also was convicted of a persistent felony offender charge. A Kenton County jury recommended he serve a sentence of life in prison.

What happened on Oct. 19, 2021?

Though prosecutors and Brewster's attorneys argued during the four-day trial over whether the killing was intentional, both sides agreed that Brewster fatally shot 25-year-old Kameryn Recchia on the night of Oct. 19, 2021.

She died of two gunshot wounds to the head, a medical examiner determined.

At the time of the shooting, Brewster and Recchia had been dating for a couple of years. She and her son lived with Brewster at his double-wide trailer in Morning View, Kentucky.

The relationship had been deteriorating for several months and on the night of the shooting, the couple was feuding over money, according to Amy Miller, Brewster's public defender.

Recchia told Brewster that if he didn't give her the money, "she could just have someone come over and get it," Miller said, adding that Brewster already suspected someone had been in his home and stolen valuables previously. Recchia's statement sent him into "fight or flight mode,” she said.

Brewster grabbed his father's rifle to fend off what he believed was "an imminent attack," when he noticed items that were in his late father's bedroom closet had been strewn over the bed, Miller said.

That's when, in a state of panic, he lifted the gun and fired, believing someone else was in the house, she added.

Kenton County Commonwealth's Attorney Rob Sanders, however, disputed claims the killing was unintentional, noting the version of events provided by Brewster's attorneys doesn't account for the second gunshot wound Recchia suffered.

Sanders also cited Brewster's inconsistent testimony at trial and his eventual admission that he intentionally pulled the trigger.

Recchia survived the first shot to the face, Sanders said, but Brewster returned to finish the job.

Sanders said evidence at the scene indicated Recchia was crawling on the kitchen floor struggling to stand up when Brewster, holding the gun at a downward angle, fired the fatal second shot which struck Recchia in the forehead.

"This wasn't just a murder, it was an execution," Sanders said.

Brewster, who's not the child's biological father, then grabbed the young boy and fled in Recchia's car, according to prosecutors.

Miller said Brewster was trying to protect the boy, who he referred to as his own son. He made it as far as Detroit before he decided to turn back.

Police discover Recchia's body during well-being check

Kenton County police were called the next evening to check on Recchia, as her family was unable to reach her, Emily Arnzen, assistant Kenton County prosecuting attorney, said during opening statements on Tuesday.

Police went out to the trailer in the 11000 block of Brewster Lane but they were unable to make contact with her, prosecutors said. The Kenton County officers later met with her mother, Lisa Recchia, and stepfather at the trailer, a criminal complaint states.

While officers and Recchia's family tried knocking on the trailer's doors and windows, Arnzen said, the search was complicated by the fact that Recchia was deaf and it was possible she was safe inside but simply couldn't hear them.

Recchia's stepfather entered the home through an open window and let the police inside through the front door, court documents say. Police discovered Recchia lying on the kitchen floor with blood all around her.

Brewster arrested after leading troopers on interstate pursuit

Meanwhile, Brewster had been arrested by the Ohio State Highway Patrol after he led troopers on a pursuit for several miles along southbound Interstate 75 just north of Dayton, according to court testimony.

The young boy was strapped into a car seat in the backseat when troopers finally stopped Brewster, prosecutors said, adding they recovered a .22-caliber rifle and ammunition, as well as Recchia's wallet and cell phone from the car.

The local children's services agency took custody of Recchia's child until his grandfather was able to pick him up.

Investigators were able to recover the bullets that hit Recchia, Arnzen said, adding one was lodged in the kitchen wall and the other was recovered by the medical examiner who performed Recchia's autopsy.

The fragments of metal left behind by the bullets were too badly damaged for the Kentucky State Police forensics lab to make any meaningful comparisons, Arnzen said.

However, investigators were able to compare shell casings recovered from the scene to the rifle recovered from Recchia's car after the pursuit and determined the shots were fired from that gun, she added.

During an interview at the jail in Miami County, Ohio, Brewster told a Kenton County detective that he and Recchia had been arguing over an issue at her job and that she was still alive when he left, according to the complaint.

He said he took the gun with him because he was afraid Recchia would call his parole officer over it since he's a convicted felon. When the detective informed Brewster about Recchia's death, he "showed no emotion and stopped the interview," the document states.

'It's just been a nightmare'

Ray Recchia, Kameryn's father, said in court on Friday that he had to put off retiring so he can raise his grandson. He said the child still suffers from nightmares and issues with loud noises.

Lisa Recchia said she and her ex-husband now share custody of the boy, who will turn 5 years old in August.

"It's just been a nightmare," she said of her daughter's death. "To function I have to pretend she's still here."

This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Prosecutor calls young mother's murder an 'execution'; man convicted