Men charged in Caitlyn Kaufman murder appear in court

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WSMV) - Just weeks before the trial begins for two men accused of murdering a Nashville nurse, both suspects went before the judge on Friday morning.

Caitlyn Kaufman was killed more than two years ago while driving to work on I-440.

Both Devaunte Hill and James Cowan appeared briefly in court for a motion hearing and their attorneys agreed to move forward to trial on Jan. 23. Hill and Cowan are charged with first-degree murder in Kaufman’s death.

Kaufman was killed in December 2020. She was found slumped over her steering wheel in her car on I-440 by a parks officer on his way home. Last year, the lead investigator testified that the officer came upon Kaufman’s car originally thinking it was a wreck but discovered several bullet holes.

Kaufman’s parents came face to face with the two suspects in her murder in November.

Her mother struggled to hold back tears while her father lunged through the partition in the courtroom toward the two men in orange at the defense table.

Bailiffs removed him from the courtroom, and he sat outside for the remainder of the hearing.

Hill and Cowan will be tried together before a jury beginning on Jan. 23.

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