Memphis Man Charged with Murder After Fatal Quick-Draw Contest Kills Girlfriend

Rontavious Dillard, 23, is accused of shooting his girlfriend Nyla Howell during a gun-drawing game in Memphis, Tenn., then hiding the weapons and changing his story.

Memphis Man Accused of Killing Girlfriend in Fatal Gun-Drawing Game

A 23-year-old Memphis man shot and killed his girlfriend during a contest over who could raise a gun the fastest, then hid the weapons and gave multiple conflicting accounts to police, according to Law & Crime.

Rontavious Dillard faces charges of second-degree murder, tampering with or fabricating evidence, possessing a firearm during a dangerous felony, and two counts of being a convicted felon in possession of a handgun, per Shelby County court records. The victim was identified by CBS affiliate WREG as Nyla Howell.

Officers from the Memphis Police Department responded to a home on the 5800 block of Jardin Place on Sunday at approximately 8 p.m., after Dillard called 911 to report that his girlfriend had been shot. Responding officers found Howell with a gunshot wound and transported her to a nearby hospital in critical condition. She was pronounced dead.

Investigators who obtained a search warrant found blood smears trailing from the first floor all the way up to a second-floor walk-in attic. Inside the attic, tucked inside a box of furnace filters, they recovered a mini Draco firearm. A second gun — a black handgun with a shaved-off serial number — was found wedged between the backyard fence and the exterior wall, per NBC affiliate WMC.

Dillard's account of events shifted repeatedly under questioning. He initially told police he heard a noise from another room and walked in to find Howell already shot. He then claimed Howell had been handling a handgun when it discharged accidentally as he tried to take it from her.

In a third version, Dillard said Howell had challenged him to see who could "up" a gun the fastest. According to police, Howell picked up one firearm while Dillard grabbed the Draco — which then fired.

Dillard is being held without bond at the Shelby County Jail. He was due in court on Tuesday.

Source: Law & Crime