Woman faces murder charge in killing at Bloomington homeless camp
Witnesses told police a 41-year-old woman fired a revolver multiple times into a tent during an argument the afternoon of Jan. 9, killing 52-year-old Curtis Butler.
On Friday, Evelynn Lakisha Kuuleilehaunani, a transient woman from Bloomington, was arrested and charged with murder in connection with Butler's death.
A news release from the Bloomington Police Department said Kuuleilehaunani and Butler had been in a relationship and were arguing at a tent in a homeless encampment behind Wheeler Mission when the Tuesday afternoon shooting happened.
Police had been looking for the suspect since and located her leaving an apartment and walking on South Basswood Drive about 1 a.m. Friday. Detectives took her into custody, interviewed her at the police station and then booked her into the Monroe County Jail on a preliminary charge of murder, the news release said.
"Witnesses reported that they heard the suspect and victimarguing near the victim’s tent with Kuuleilehaunani standing outside the tent and the victim inside the tent," the BPD statement said.
"Witnesses stated that they saw Kuuleilehaunani holding a revolver during the argument. Kuuleilehaunani reportedly raised the firearm above her head and fired one round up into the air, then lowered the gun and fired multiple rounds into the victim’s tent. The suspect then gathered her belongings and fled from the scene."
People in the area went into the tent "and immediately saw that he (Butler) had been shot."
Multiple people reside in the wooded encampment behind Wheeler Mission, a shelter for homeless men located in the 200 block of South Westplex Avenue, on the city's near-west side.
Contact H-T reporter Laura Lane at llane@heraldt.com or 812-318-5967.
This article originally appeared on The Herald-Times: Transient Bloomington woman charged with killing at homeless camp
