Granddaughter of Late Country Singer Stabbed to Death by Ex, Who Was Later Fatally Shot by Grandfather

Her grandfather reportedly shot Travis Sanders as he came to his granddaughter's defense, killing him.

The husband of late country singer Jean Shepard shot and killed his teenage granddaughter’s ex-boyfriend while trying to save her from being stabbed to death in their Nashville home, but it was too late, according to reports.

Police received a call to the home at 3 a.m. on Saturday and found 79-year-old Benny Birchfield lying in the front yard of the home with stab wounds while his granddaughter, 18-year-old Icie Sloan-Hawkins, was inside also suffering from stab wounds.

Read: Dad Killed Son, 3, in Fear of Losing His Girlfriend Who Disliked Children: Prosecutors

She was transported to the hospital but later died, according to reports.

Her ex-boyfriend, Travis Sanders, was found dead in the house of a gunshot wound inflicted by Birchfield, reports said. Police said Birchfield fired 5 shots.

Sloan-Hawkins’ mother, Velvet Sloan, told The Tennessean that her daughter dated Sanders, 21, earlier that year but they’d broken up after a tumultuous relationship

Birchfield reportedly heard the former couple fighting in the basement. Sanders reportedly attacked Birchfield with a knife, and Birchfield shot Sanders, Sloan told the paper.

Sloan-Hawkins’ had been living with her grandpa since the death of her grandmother in September, who died of Parkinson’s disease.

"It's just such a shame," Bob Adams, Velvet Sloan's fiancé, told the paper. “She was a wonderful girl and a wonderful person, and for this to happen to her, it could happen to anybody.”

Sloan also said Sanders did not live at the residence.

Read: Man Killed Girlfriend's 3-Year-Old Daughter, Then Reported Her Missing: Cops

Birchfield has since been released from the hospital after undergoing surgery, according to reports.

According to reports, he will not face any charges.

Sloan-Hawkins will be buried next to her Shepard's first husband, the late country music singer Hawkshaw Hawkins, according to the paper.

Watch: Cops Say Teen Strangled High School Girlfriend Found Dead in His House

 

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