A mom from Tennessee has been accused of fatally shooting her 5-year-old daughter and then attempting to shift the blame on two different men as well as her 2-year-old toddler son, according to multiple reports.
Robin Howington, 37, has been indicted by a grand jury and is being held on a $500,000 bond on charges of first-degree murder, child neglect, false reporting, tampering with evidence and attempted tampering with evidence, all stemming from the Sept. 14, 2019, death of her daughter, Destiny Oliver.
The child was shot in the chest inside Howington’s Fountain City home and was rushed by ambulance to a nearby hospital where she was pronounced dead shortly after arriving.
Howington allegedly tried blaming three separate individuals for the fatal shooting, according to an indictment obtained by multiple outlets.
At first, Howington allegedly claimed a man she did not know found his way inside and shot Destiny once before fleeing in a black Chrysler 300, reports the Knoxville News Sentinel.
But under questioning, Howington changed her story — claiming to police Destiny’s father was the man who shot the child point blank in the chest, claiming the violence unfolded soon after a heated argument between the two parents.
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Allegedly, Howington said the father fled in a white Chrysler 300, WATE-TV reports.
And as police searched the surrounding area after the shooting, a gun was found in a bush outside Howington’s home. Howington also lied and said her boyfriend – who is not Destiny’s father – hid the gun there.
But after investigators obtained video footage shot by a neighbor, it was revealed that Howington hid the weapon, reports WVLT-TV.
Detectives then showed the footage to Howington, who then admitted stashing the gun in the bush after wiping it down. She additionally said she wanted to protect her 2-year-old son, who had discovered the firearm in a closet and shot his sister.
The indictment alleges she “did unlawfully kill [Destiny Oliver] during the perpetration of aggravated child neglect.”
It should be noted the tampering charges link back to Howington’s alleged efforts to destroy her cell phone the evening of her daughter’s killing.
According to the indictment, police allege she told them she did not want detectives finding evidence on the phone of illicit marijuana sales she had allegedly conducted.
Howington has yet to enter pleas to the charges against her.
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