Chattanooga mother shot, killed as children sat beside her, court records say

David Robinson thumbnail
David Robinson thumbnail
photo David Robinson

A man shot and killed the mother of his two children as they sat beside her at the edge of their bed just after midnight on Good Friday, according to Hamilton County court records.

The suspect, 20-year-old David Robinson, called Chattanooga police at 12:03 a.m. and led officers to the upper floor of an apartment in the 2500 block of Sixth Avenue. There, police found 21-year-old Iyanna Wells with a gunshot wound to the shoulder and a handgun lying nearby, court records state.

She was taken to a local hospital where she later died.

Investigators first spoke to Robinson at the police station. They noted he gave inconsistent statements about what occurred at the Sixth Avenue home that night, according to the criminal affidavit.

He first told investigators that he and Wells were "playing with the gun" when it went off, court records state. Detectives asked him to explain that, and he told them he'd placed the gun on the bed when his daughter started reaching for it. So he picked up the gun and put it in his pants before pulling it back out. That's when he and Wells were "talking s--" to each other and "the gun went off," he told police

Investigators then looked at body camera footage from first responding officers, and noticed Robinson told them yet another version of the story.

In that version, he told police he'd taken the gun out and was trying to take the safety off when it went off.

Investigators then went to the crime scene and spoke to witnesses.

Two separate witnesses told police they heard Wells and Robinson arguing right before the shooting.

"They heard the victim yelling help, and then heard a gunshot and silence after," investigators noted in the affidavit.

The witnesses went on to say that Wells and Robinson had been arguing throughout the day and that Robinson had pulled his gun on her two separate times and had smacked her in the face at least once before pulling his gun on her.

Detectives then went back to Robinson, and he admitted to pulling the gun on Wells two times before the shooting, but he "was only joking around," he said, according to the criminal affidavit.

Investigators asked him what changed the third time to make the gun go off, and he said he didn't know, court records state.

"He described putting the gun in his pants, and then pulling it back out to point at the victim," investigators noted. "He stated she was sitting on the edge of the bed with each of her two small children sitting next to her on the bed when the gun went off."

Robinson was charged with criminal homicide and two counts of felony reckless endangerment.

"Robinson shot and killed his children's mother while their two small children were sitting on either side of her," investigators wrote. And "witnesses heard the victim calling for help before being shot."

Robinson is also charged with unlawful possession of a weapon due to being under the legal age to carry a pistol, which is 21.

Contact Rosana Hughes at rhughes@timesfreepress.com.

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