Hill threw the woman to the ground and hit her multiple times, the report says. When a man witnessed the assault, he attempted to intervene. Then Hill charged him and he ran, according to police. The man, whom the Journal-News is not identifying because he has not been charged with a crime, turned and shot Hill in the torso.
Hill was pronounced dead at the scene. Hamilton Sgt. Rich Burkhardt said the incident appears to be an act of self-defense but the results of the investigation will be reviewed by the Butler County Prosecutor’s Office.
The man who shot Hill called 911 to report the incident and stayed at the scene until police arrived.
“This man, he just beat up his girlfriend. I told him ‘No, don’t touch her again, and he started chasing me down,’” the man told dispatchers. “He started chasing me down the street and I shot him. He said he was was going to beat my (expletive), and he started chasing me, and I started running, and he kept running after me.”
The man told dispatchers the woman had been lying on the ground screaming and crying for about 10 minutes.
A woman also placed a 911 call when she witnessed the assault on the woman. In the background the victim could be heard screaming.
Butler County Prosecutor Michael Gmoser said he will convene an investigative grand jury to consider the evidence.
“I have reviewed the evidence in the case. This is going to the grand jury for review. There are precedential issues that have to be addressed,” Gmoser said.
He added the man who fired the gun has not been charged, and the case will be presented as part of an investigation.
Gmoser would not comment on the question of whether the shooting was in self-defense. But Gmoser’s policy is to present self-defense shootings, as well as officers-involved shootings, to a grand jury for review.
An autopsy is scheduled for today, according to the Butler County Coroner’s Office.
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