An Alabama dad accidentally shot his son’s girlfriend dead as he showed off his antique gun that he did not realize was loaded, a coroner’s report alleged

Whitney Harlow Robeson, 22, died from a single gunshot wound on March 7 at her boyfriend Brandon Towers’ home in Trussville, Ala

The Jefferson County Coroner’s Office called the shooting an accidental homicide at the time, until Brandon’s father was abruptly arrested on May 11

Jeffrey Scott Towers, 54, was charged with manslaughter and released on a $30,000 bail hours later

Autopsy report alleged Towers was showing off his antique gun collection when Robeson was visiting Brandon

Allegedly he was holding a Colt Navy single-action revolver that he did not realize was loaded, and it went off unexpectedly

Bullet tore into Robeson’s chest, causing a fatal ‘injury to [her] left lung, heart, and aorta’

Whitney Harlow Robeson, [photo], a 22-year-old recent college graduate from Richmond, Virginia, died from a single gunshot wound on March 7 at her boyfriend’s family home in Trussville, Alabama. The shooter was her boyfriend’s

A father accidentally shot his son’s girlfriend dead as he showed off his antique gun that he did not realize was loaded, a coroner’s report alleged.
Whitney Harlow Robeson, a 22-year-old recent college graduate from Richmond, Virginia, died from a single gunshot wound on March 7, at her the family home of her boyfriend Brandon Towers in Trussville, Alabama.
The Jefferson County Coroner’s Office called the shooting an accidental homicide at the time, until Brandon’s father was abruptly arrested on May 11.
Jeffrey Scott Towers, 54, was charged with manslaughter and released on a $30,000 bail hours later.
According to the court filing, Whitney Robeson was visiting Towers’ home on Deer Trail in Trussville on the evening of March 7. Around 9:30 p.m., Towers was in his attic showing his antique firearm collection to Robeson and his own son, Brandon.

Jeffrey Scott Towers, 54, [photo], according to the Coroner’s report ‘accidentally’ shot his son’s girlfriend while doing a ‘show and tell’ with his antique gun collection on March 7. He was arrested and charged with manslaughter last week May 11

Robeson who had just started a job with a hardware store in Birmingham, Alabama, was visiting her boyfriend Brandon Towers [photo], when she was shot his dad

Towers was allegedly holding a Colt Navy single-action revolver that he did not realize was loaded, and it went off unexpectedly.
The bullet tore into Robeson’s chest, causing a fatal ‘injury to [her] left lung, heart, and aorta,’ according to the coroner’s report.
Towers’ lawyers, through his attorneys has denied criminally responsibility for Robeson’s death. 
‘What happened to Ms Robeson was a tragic event,’ they said in a statement, adding, ‘While we understand that the justice system must play out, we know that the facts will show that Mr Towers has no criminal history, has been a productive and upstanding citizen for his entire life, and is not guilty of these charges.’

Robeson, center, had recently graduated Summa Cum Laude from Auburn University. She was planning a career in interior design. Her death was initially ruled an accident

Robeson recently graduated summa cum laude from Auburn University in the College of Human Sciences’ interior design program. She had just started work as a trade consultant with Restoration Hardware in Birmingham, Alabama, when she was killed.
The family accuses Towers of negligence and reckless behavior.
The victim’s parents Carin and J. Matthew Robeson filed the wrongful death lawsuit Friday in Jefferson County Circuit Court on behalf of their daughter, seeking an unspecified amount of money in damages, to be decided by a jury
The suit names Jeffrey Scott Towers as the primary defendant, claiming he carelessly fired a loaded antique gun while showing it to her. Towers failed to check if the gun was loaded before handling it near others and lacked basic knowledge of firearm safety, the lawsuit claims
The complaint reportedly, leaves room to sue unnamed manufacturers or repairers of the gun, as the weapon may have been defective, missing safety features or improperly maintained, which could have caused the accidental discharge, the family’s attorneys argue