A Cincinnati man accused of shooting his 11-year-old daughter requested a judge to let him out to attend her funeral.
Deandre Kelley's attorney, Hugh McCloskey Jr, filed a motion Wednesday, requesting the judge to allow his client to attend the funeral to be held on Saturday at Riverside Academy School, where the girl was in the fifth grade..
Kelley accidently shot his daughter, Shanti Lanza, Sunday, during a heated argument with his wife, reported the Associated Press. Following this he was charged with reckless homicide.
"At the request of Shanti's family, (I) filed this Motion seeking an Order from this Court allowing Mr. Kelley a furlough from the Hamilton County Justice Center in order to participate, in any manner that this Court deems appropriate and under the supervision of the appropriate law enforcement, in the funeral," McCloskey wrote, according to Cincinnati.com.
Hamilton County Common Pleas Court Judge Melissa Powers scheduled a hearing for Thursday noon.
According to the police reports, the 34-year-old father fired shots into the air, Sunday, and one shot hit the girl who was standing at a window in her second-story bedroom. However, McCloskey said that Kelley accidentally shot Shanti.
Kelley pleaded not guilty. The AP reported that Antwon Kelley, brother of the accused, said that Kelley would have never shot his daughter on purpose. He said that Kelley is a family man and loving father of seven children. He also lost his teenage son a year ago in a still-unsolved shooting.
