Katie 
Keegan Mummey, 18, of Newark, Ohio
In a court appearance via video link on Monday, Keegan Mummey, 18, of Newark Ohio told the Licking County Court of Common Pleas, "I do have a tendency to black out, so I don't remember what I do after I black out." Mummey remains in custody in Licking County Jail on $1,000,000 bond for charges related to the murder of his pre-teen ex-girlfriend on Friday.
"Quite frankly, that's not an unusual excuse for us to hear. There's no way this was accidental, or they were just playing around with a gun." -Assistant Prosecutor Paula Sawyers
Around 9:15 pm, Newark Police and Fire responded to a neighborhood in response to a report of gunfire. They located Isabella "Bella" Barnes crumpled on the front porch of her home. She was transported to Licking Memorial Hospital where she was pronounced dead from a single gunshot wound to the head.
According to the criminal complaint, an eye-witness statement said that Mummey walked up to Barnes where she was seated on the porch and placed the firearm against her head before pulling the trigger. He then fled the scene on his bicycle and is suspected to have ditched the firearm somewhere between Newark and Hebron. Late Monday, a CERT team from Licking county were seen canvasing his suspected route to search for evidence.
"She loved life (and) was always smiling. She was one of the students that stopped back to see me last year, and that means a lot. When I heard it was a 12-year-old (shot on Friday), there was a little pit in my stomach. You hope it's not one of the kids you previously had and helped. It just doesn't happen here. I'm kind of at a loss for words." -Jill Kiefer, Barnes' 5th Grade teacher
Kiefer has joined with several of her colleagues to create a fundraiser.
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