Tag: Jillian Ludwig

Family of Woman Shot Near Belmont Campus Sues University, Nashville, and Tennessee for ‘Negligence and Recklessness’

Tom Pappert
Jillian Ludwig

The parents of Jillian Ludwig filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Belmont University, the State of Tennessee, and Metro Nashville after the 18-year-old student was fatally shot near the university’s Nashville campus last year.

Ludwig was allegedly shot by Shaquille Taylor, who police say fired a weapon at public housing near Belmont after he was previously released from jail on unrelated firearm charges. Authorities deemed Taylor mentally incompetent, with doctors claiming he has the mental capacity of a small child. Taylor’s former coworker disputed this claim.

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Tennessee House Speaker Sexton Claims Nashville DA Funk ‘Doing Everything He Can to Put People Behind Bars’

Tom Pappert

Tennessee House Speaker Cameron Sexton (R-Crossville) claimed in a Wednesday appearance on SuperTalk 99.7 WTN’s “The Matt Murphy Show” that Davidson County District Attorney Glenn Funk (D) is “doing everything he can to put people behind bars,” but said he could not comment on why Funk decided against launching appeals against court rulings in a bid to keep career criminal Shaquille Taylor in jail prior to the death of Belmont freshman Jillian Ludwig.

Sexton repeated his claim that the Tennessee General Assembly’s failure to pass HB 7036 in the special session means Funk is “doing all he can” but “law enforcement’s hands are tied.”

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Michael Patrick Leahy: Tennessee House Speaker Sexton’s Proposed Change of One Word in Tennessee Law from ‘Immediate’ to ‘Imminent’ Would Not Have Kept Alleged Killer of Belmont Freshman in Custody

Tom Pappert

Michael Patrick Leahy, the Editor-in-Chief of The Tennessee Star and CEO of The Star News Network, revealed during a Monday afternoon appearance on “The Matt Murphy Show” that Tennessee House Speaker Cameron Sexton responded to The Star’s fact check of his claims regarding Shaquille Taylor, the alleged killer of Jillian Ludwig, after Leahy’s prior appearance on SuperTalk 99.2 WTN earlier on Monday.

Leahy noted that during Sexton’s Friday appearance on Murphy’s show, he explicitly stated that Ludwig would still be alive if the laws passed by the Tennessee House during the recent special session were passed by the Tennessee Senate, before revealing that Sexton changed his story during an early morning phone conversation on Monday.

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Shaquille Taylor Had ‘Short Temper, Bad Attitude’ but Did Not Function ‘Like a Five-Year-Old,’ Former Co-Worker Says

Tom Pappert

A former coworker of Shaquille Taylor, who is accused of fatally shooting Belmont University freshman Jillian Ludwig in the head, said in a Friday interview that Taylor did not seem to have reduced cognitive abilities during their workplace interactions, and instead said he regaled her with stories of his criminal history.

After recognizing Taylor from photographs spread by the media, WSMV4 claims a Nashville woman said she worked with the alleged killer “at a fast food chain off White Bridge Pike.” Speaking to the outlet, she disputed reports that Taylor has the mental capacity of a small child.

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FACT CHECK of Tennessee House Speaker Sexton Claim that Alleged Killer of Belmont Freshman Would Have Been in Custody Had State Senate Acted: FALSE

Michael Patrick Leahy

In an in-depth interview on Friday, WTN SuperTalk 99.7 afternoon host Matt Murphy spoke with Tennessee Speaker of the House Cameron Sexton about the shooting and death of Belmont University student Jillian Ludwig. The Tennessee Star conducted a FACT CHECK of Speaker Sexton’s claim in that interview that Shaquille Taylor, the alleged killer of 18-year-old Belmont University Jillian Ludwig, who was shot in the head on Tuesday and died on Thursday, would have been in custody if the Tennessee State Senate had passed legislation in the August Special Session that the House had passed. The Star determined that Sexton’s claim is FALSE. The transcript of that interview and the corresponding FACT CHECKS conducted by The Star can be seen below. ——————- Matt Murphy: So, obviously, we’ve been covering this very difficult story involving the passing of a Belmont University student by the name of Lillian, or Jillian, pardon me, Jillian Ludwig, who died Thursday, yesterday morning after being shot in the head while walking near campus Tuesday. EDITOR’S NOTE: Prior to allegedly shooting Belmont University freshman Jillian Taylor in the head on Tuesday, November 7, 2023, Shaquille Taylor was deemed incompetent to stand trial for aggravated assault with a deadly…

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Father of Belmont Freshman Killed in Nashville Says Violent Criminals Shouldn’t Be Allowed to Return to Streets

Peter D'Abrosca

The parents of Jillian Ludwig, an 18-year-old freshman at Belmont University who died after being struck and killed by a stray bullet in Nashville, appeared on “Good Morning America” Friday morning and called for criminal justice reform.

Ludwig’s killer, 29-year-old Shaquille Taylor, had a lengthy rap sheet for violent crimes, and in 2021 was released back onto the streets after being deemed mentally unfit to stand trial on a felony aggravated assault with a deadly weapon charge. 

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Steve Holzapfel Was Magistrate Who Set $10,000 Bond for Alleged Killer Before Shooting of Jillian Ludwig

Tom Pappert

The Davidson County General Sessions Court judicial magistrate who set the $10,000 bond for Shaquille Taylor in a case related to an alleged carjacking that occurred in September was identified to The Tennessee Star by the State Warrant and Bond Office on Friday as Steve Holzapfel. Taylor is accused of shooting 18-year-old Belmont University student Jillian Ludwig in the head after missing a court appearance related to the carjacking case.

Ludwig died on Thursday, two days after Taylor allegedly shot her while she was walking near the Belmont University campus. Taylor is currently in custody with a new bond of $280,000 on charges that are expected to be upgraded to murder.

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Alleged Killer of Belmont Freshman Skipped Out on $10,000 Bond for Felony Auto Theft After Judge Dropped Earlier Aggravated Assault Charges

Tom Pappert
Shaquille Taylor

Shaquille Taylor, 29, the alleged killer of Belmont University freshman Jillian Ludwig, who died on Thursday after being shot in the head while walking near campus on Tuesday, was released from Metro Nashville Davidson County Jail on September 23, after bonding out subsequent to his arrest on September 21 on felony auto theft charges.

A $10,000 bond was set by a Davidson County General Sessions Court judge when he was arraigned on those charges, and the company who posted the bond, Brooke’s Bail Bonding, told The Tennessee Star it was doubled when Taylor missed court on November 3. A clerk at the Davidson County Criminal Court told The Star on Thursday that records show Brooke’s Bail Bonding paid $10,000 to the court. Brooke’s Bail Bonding owner Brooke Harlan said her company was attempting to secure a new court date for Taylor at the time of his latest arrest.

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Belmont University Freshman Not Expected to Survive After Being Struck by Stray Bullet in Nashville

Peter D'Abrosca

A Belmont University freshman who was shot in the head in Nashville Tuesday afternoon is not expected to survive, according to multiple reports.

“An 18-year-old female Belmont [University] student from NJ was very critically wounded by a gunshot [Tuesday] afternoon while walking on the track in Edgehill Community Memorial Gardens Park,” the Metro Nashville Police Department (MNPD) said on Twitter Tuesday. “The gunfire came from public housing across the street. Investigation active.”

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