Starting on December 6, 2023, Hannah Payne has been on trial for the murder of a man who was involved in a hit-and-run back in May 2019. She faced the accusation of trailing the man who left the scene of the hit-and-run and eventually killing him.
The week-long trial saw many testimonies from witnesses as well as Payne herself. She denied being the one who pulled the trigger and insisted that the deceased, Mr. Kenneth Herring, pulled the trigger himself during a struggle.
The jury, on December 12, 2023, reached a unanimous verdict on all 7 counts Hannah faced. She was found guilty of malice murder and would face sentencing on Friday, December 15, 2023.
Who is Hannah Payne?
Hannah Payne was supposed to be a witness who saw a crash that turned out to be a hit-and-run in May 2019. However, her decision during the investigation of that incident led to a larger, more complicated situation involving her as a key member of a shooting and murder.
On said day, when the hit and run happened, Hannah was at the scene when a man named Kenneth Herring hit another car and drove away.
According to Payne, there was also an officer at the scene who asked her to follow Herring because they discovered that they didn’t get the tag of his car before he drove away.
The young woman was also on a call with a 911 dispatcher who, upon hearing that she had gone after Mr. Kenneth, told her that they didn’t want her to chase him but to be safe.
Miss Hannah Payne however took it upon herself to continue following the driver who ran from the crash scene. She claimed that she wasn’t following him but just staying behind him so she could get ample information for the police.
However, what happened when she confronted the hit-and-run driver turned out to be a bigger mess than the initial problem.
She was initially charged with one count of murder and made bail of $100,000 bond in May 2019. The next month, she was charged with several other felonies, and her bond was revoked.
Trials for the case started in early December 2023.
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Payne Trailed and Reported Shot a 62-year-old Man in 2019
On day 4 of the trial in which Hannah faced 8 accusations, she took the stand to give her version of what happened.
According to her, she was still on the phone with the dispatcher when she got out of her car to confront the late Kenneth.
She revealed that he stopped his car in a turning lane and she did the same, got out of her car, and approached him with her phone on speaker.
Ms. Payne informed the late 62-year-old man that the dispatcher she was on the call with asked them both to return to the scene of the crash.
She stated that instead of complying, the man reached out and knocked her phone down. He then grabbed her by the wrist and pulled her into his vehicle. She did not think that she should have been very far away from him, she concluded.
The man then started his car and they eventually hit her car when she (Hannah) drew her weapon. She had a gun tucked in a holster on her right hip which she grabbed.
According to the woman on trial, the late Mr. Herring grabbed her hand which held the gun and tried to yank it off her.
It was supposedly during this tussle that the man pulled the trigger on her gun which killed him.
When she noticed she was free from the struggle, she noticed someone behind her. She asked the person to be a witness as she picked up her phone and updated the 911 dispatcher on what had happened.
Mr. Cameron Williams, the witness, reported what he had seen and captured. He confessed that he saw Hannah hitting on Herring’s car’s doors and windows and screaming at him, as he drove past the scene.
A while later, he heard the gunshot. In his video capture, Ms. Payne was seen holding her gun just outside Kenneth’s car.
Late Mr. Kenneth Herring’s family did not have any of her explanation and so they wanted justice to take its course. The persecution argues that she had malicious intentions for following his car.
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Hannah Payne’s Sentencing Hold on Friday, December 15, 2023
After many days of trial and listening to many witnesses and family members, the case came to an end.
Hannah Payne’s defense attorney tried selling the narrative that she was just a young woman who wanted justice to be served in the hit-and-run situation. He further emphasized that Hannah was incapable of wanting to hurt Mr. Kenneth.
The lawyer argued that she was just a young girl who got caught up in the wrong situation. He referenced that Hannah has a good heart and good intentions.
The state’s persecuting attorney, Mr. Tucker, revealed audio tapes of where Ms. Payne, at the back of a police car, admitted to telling the deceased that she had a gun and would shoot him.
She was also asked to identify the 4 times the dispatcher asked her to stop chasing Kenneth Herring. To this, she claimed that she did not understand it as an instruction but as a suggestion. She also insisted that she wasn’t chasing the man but just following him.
Even after getting the car’s tag, she still insisted on following the car.
After the trial on Tuesday, the jury reached a unanimous decision which took barely 2 hours. Deliberations began at about 4:50 p.m. and ended before 7 p.m.
On all 8 counts listed below, they found Ms. Hannah Payne, a 24-year-old American citizen, guilty on all counts.
- Count 1 – Malice Murder
- Count 2 – Felony Murder
- Count 3 – Aggravated Assault
- Count 4 – Felony Murder
- Count 5 – False Imprisonment
- Count 6 – Possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony
- Count 7 – Possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony
- Count 8 – Possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony
As Ms. Hannah was taken away after the verdict, she was sobbing and shaking. While being questioned she confessed that she didn’t know that trying to do the right thing isn’t the right answer.
Kenneth’s family was relieved upon hearing the verdict. The late man’s sister, Vickie Kerring explained that it was selfish for Payne to blame her brother for his death.
