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'He was about to get robbed': New witness admits to aiding in murder of local father, daughter

A 19-year-old woman took the stand and admitted she helped set Waddles up.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Prosecutors alleged that Kevon Lawless didn’t act alone in the murder of Brandon Waddles and his 3-year-old daughter, Trinity Randolph.

On Sept. 16, a 19-year-old woman took the stand and admitted she helped set Waddles up.

Prosecutors showed jurors text messages between the woman and Waddles.

LMPD Detective Jason Clopton said the text messages started on the day before the murder. It was also the same day the 19-year-old admitted to hanging out with Lawless at her house.

“It begins on August 13, 2020,” Clopton said.

The text messages showed that the two planned to meet on Aug. 14 at his home in the south end of Louisville. It also shows the witness telling Lawless to “come outside.”

The woman admitted to never arriving to his home. Instead, she said she was on the phone when Lawless shot Waddles and Randolph.

“And then what happened after you heard the gunshots?” prosecution asked. “The phone clicked,” the woman answered.

After several hours of prosecutors asking her why she helped set up Waddles she replied, "Because he was about to get robbed.”

Five days after the shooting, Detective Brian Peters said he visited the woman’s home and took her in for questioning. During their interview, Peters told the witness to call Lawless on the phone. That's when he noticed Lawless was saved under a different name. Peters said the woman was told to save Lawless' contact under a different name. 

Peters captured a moment on his body cam. In the video, jurors heard the woman telling Lawless “I miss you.” Lawless responded by saying, “I’m not coming back to the south for right now. It’s just hot down there. It’s just hot.”

Peters believes Lawless was referring to the south end of Louisville, where Waddles lived; however, Lawless' attorneys argued that it’s up for interpretation.

“There’s a lot of south below Louisville in America, right? And it’s hot in August, correct?” Lawless' attorneys said. 

The woman was convicted of facilitating a murder as a juvenile, which was part of a deal she made with prosecutors.

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