A 22-year-old college graduate, Whitney Robeson, was shot dead inside an Alabama home in March. Two months after her death, Trussville Police arrested her boyfriend’s father in the case of an accidental shooting.
According to the New York Post, Robeson, a Virginia native, was found suffering from a gunshot wound at a residence on the 7700 block of Deer Trail in Trussville, Alabama, around 9:30 p.m. on March 7, 2026. She was rushed to UAB-St. Vincent’s East Hospital, where she was pronounced dead at 10:49 p.m.
On May 11, the Trussville Police Department arrested 54-year-old Jeffrey Scott Towers, the father of Robeson’s boyfriend, on a manslaughter charge. The shooting occurred at his home on Deer Trail. He was taken into custody on May 11 after months of “extensive investigation.”
The Jefferson County Coroner’s Office ruled it an accidental shooting.
Towers was booked into the Jefferson County Jail and has been issued a $30,000 bond. His attorneys pushed back against the criminal allegations, maintaining that Towers is innocent.
Attorneys John Amari and Dain Stewart said in a statement:
“What happened to Ms. Robeson was a tragic event.”
“While we understand that the justice system must play out, we know that the facts will show that Mr. Towers has no criminal history, has been a productive and upstanding citizen for his entire life, and is not guilty of these charges.”
Regardless, the case garnered much attention online because of Robeson’s age and the life milestone she had recently achieved before her death.
The 22-year-old graduated from Auburn University in May 2025 with a degree in interior design and had recently landed her dream job as a Trade Consultant at Restoration Hardware. Her obituary stated:
“Whitney was hitting her stride exactly the way we always knew she would.”
“In her new role as a Trade Consultant at Restoration Hardware, this marvelous, independent woman was on the cusp of her successful career in interior design: the job she had always wanted since she was a little girl watching HGTV.”
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The family also described her as someone “grounded by her faith” and remembered her as a kind soul. They added:
“We mourn Whitney not only as the daughter, sister, and friend she was to us, but also as a woman in the full bloom of her youth and the fantastic mother and aunt she had the potential to become.”
