Man arrested in murder of Nashville nurse who was shot while driving to work

An arrest has been made in connection with the death of Nashville nurse Caitlyn Kaufman, who was fatally shot last week while driving to her job at St. Thomas West Hospital.

Police say the suspect, 21-year-old Devaunte Hill, did not know Ms. Kaufman.

What are the details?

Kaufman, 26, was killed Dec. 3 while driving her vehicle on I-440 on her way to her 7 p.m. shift, ABC News reported. More than a week later, Hill has been charged with criminal homicide.

During a press conference Friday announcing Hill's arrest, Nashville Police Chief John Drake told reporters that investigators received a "major break" in the case after local business owners offered an award for information and a "concerned citizen" came forward pointing to Hill as a suspect.

KDKA-TV reported that police said "they received more than 50 tips, but the one that broke the case wide open arrived late Thursday as the reward for information reached $65,000."

Hill was brought in for questioning, and implicated himself in the slaying according to police, WSMV-TV reported. Drake says Hill did not know Kaufman.

According to WTVF-TV, law enforcement was able to match a firearm owned by Hill "with bullets found at the crime scene," and "his cell phone provider also confirms his phone was in the vicinity of the crime scene during the time of the shooting."

Hill was arrested by SWAT at his apartment at 6:15 a.m.

The lead detective in the case, Chris Dickerson, recalled reaching out to Caitlyn's mother, Diane Kaufman, to deliver the news of Hill's arrest.

"While it was a relief to be able to sign the arrest warrant, it was an exceptional relief to be able to call Diane Kaufman, who is back in Pennsylvania right now," Dickerson said, going on to briefly describe the phone call: "Obviously a lot of tears, just joy. She said that she was able to get some closure before the funeral."

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