
18-year-old Ohio woman faces murder charge in mother’s fatal shooting, investigators allege deleted texts planned killing
A murder charge has been filed against 18-year-old Bryanna Dutcher in connection with the fatal shooting of her mother, 55-year-old Tamela Dutcher, inside their Delaware County, Ohio, home.
Bryanna was initially charged with obstruction of justice following her mother’s death on Aug. 14. During a court hearing Monday, prosecutors said investigators later recovered deleted text messages from Bryanna’s phone that allegedly appeared to involve planning the shooting. She now faces both murder and obstruction charges.
A judge set bond at $3 million for Bryanna and her two co-defendants, 21-year-old Dajameous Payne and 20-year-old Christian Evans. Payne and Evans are also facing murder charges.
Deputies responded shortly after midnight Aug. 14 to a report of gunfire at a home on Bean-Oller Road. The 911 caller reported that his wife had been shot. Responding officers found Tamela suffering from apparent gunshot wounds. She was taken to a nearby hospital, where she later died.
According to court documents, investigators believe the killing may have been connected to Bryanna’s relationship with Evans. Authorities allege that Evans and Payne entered the home and shot Tamela. When her husband attempted to help her, the two men allegedly fired another shot at him but missed before fleeing the residence.
Investigators also obtained cellphone location information that allegedly placed Evans on Bean-Oller Road around the time of the shooting. His father had previously installed a tracking device on Evans’ phone.
A separate complaint against Bryanna alleges that she repeatedly lied to investigators about what happened in an effort to prevent authorities from locating Evans and Payne. Investigators said Bryanna told detectives that her parents were unaware of her relationship with Evans because she believed they were “very racist” and would have forced her to leave the home if they knew about the relationship.
Bryanna, Evans, and Payne are scheduled to appear for preliminary hearings on Aug. 24.
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