Trial reset for woman accused in May 2022 Linden Grill shooting death in South Bend
SOUTH BEND — A woman investigators believe is responsible for a May 2022 fatal shooting outside the Linden Grill is facing a firearm enhancement charge added to a murder and manslaughter charge.
Kimarie Wright appeared Monday before St. Joseph County Superior Court Judge Jeffrey Sanford after prosecutors last week filed a firearm enhancement charge. Wright was scheduled to go to trial on Monday to face murder and manslaughter charges in the case. Sanford rescheduled the trial for Sept. 18.
In court documents, prosecutors allege Wright, 27, shot and killed 32-year-old Kaylynn Davidson after the two women got into a fight at the downtown restaurant. The documents say Davidson was running away from Wright when she was shot.
Double tragedy: Woman killed outside South Bend restaurant two weeks after her son was fatally shot
Davidson was taken to the hospital and later died from her injuries. She was the mother of 5-year-old Kyler Nowlin Jackson, who was accidentally shot and killed on April 30, 2022, by a 9-year-old relative.
In a hearing on Friday, John Kindley, attorney for Wright, argued for the trial continuance after revealing he had just gotten some evidence records from the prosecutor's office earlier in the week. The matter was discovered on Tuesday and Kindley said he needed more time to evaluate the information for his client. Kindley also objected to the filing of the firearm enhancement charge against Wright.
Fight turned deadly
Court documents filed with the case allege that Wright and Davidson got into a fight at the downtown restaurant in May 2022. The documents say Davidson was running away from Wright when she was shot.
South Bend police first responded to the Linden Grill when an officer stationed near downtown initially heard four or five gunshots in the area of South Michigan Street.
Multiple 911 calls soon began flooding in to dispatchers reporting that a fight had broken out at the Linden Grill and that a woman had been shot outside, according to scanner traffic from the incident.
Per court documents, video from Linden Grill shows Wright was in the restaurant when Davidson walked inside and hit her. The two began fighting, with "multiple people" having to help break up the altercation.
Court documents say Wright then pulled out a handgun as Davidson and others ran for the exit. Wright stopped in the entryway of the restaurant, witnesses say, and fired "multiple shots" at Davidson before walking back into the restaurant.
Though Davidson appeared to hit Wright before the shooting, the St. Joseph County Prosecutor's office said in court documents the lack of imminent threat to Wright at the time she allegedly fired the shots classified the shooting as a criminal act and not self-defense.
Email Tribune staff writer Greg Swiercz at gswiercz@sbtinfo.com.
This article originally appeared on South Bend Tribune: Kimarie Wright murder manslaughter charges in death outside Linden Grill
