KINGSTON, Tenn. (WATE) — Suspect Breanna Runions has a series of court hearings ahead after being charged with aggravated child abuse and first-degree murder in the shooting death of 4-year-old Evangaline Gunter.
On Tuesday morning in Roane County General Sessions Court, Runions waived her right to a bond hearing. District Attorney General Russell Johnson of the 9th Judicial District shared a video to social media Tuesday night with an update on Runions’ case.
“As y’all know, Breanna Runions was taken into custody by the TBI and Rockwood Police Department on Sunday evening,” DA Johnson said. “She was charged with Class-A felony, aggravated child abuse which carries a sentence of 15 to 25 years at 100 percent under Tennessee’s tougher new sentencing laws for dangerous and violent crimes. Also, she was charged with the state’s felony murder statute, which is a life sentence if convicted with a possibility of parole after 51 years.”
A status hearing will be held for her on Sept. 19 in Roane County General Session Court. Then, there will be a preliminary hearing. Following this hearing, Runions’ case will most likely be bound over to a grand jury. DA Johnson expects this will most likely take place sometime in February.
While the Roane County grand jury’s next meeting is set for mid-October, DA Johnson said because of the number of criminal cases in the circuit, Runions’ case more than likely won’t be heard until the grand jury’s meeting in February.
As the case moves forward, DA Johnson said his office is keeping the 4-year-old victim and her family in mind. Gunter would have turned 5 years old within a week of her death, according to her birth parents Adam and Josie Gunter, who identified her following the shooting.
“It goes without saying that we certainly want to remember that a four-year-old child has tragically lost her life in this case, and also unfortunately, one of her siblings was a witness,” DA Johnson said in closing of the video. “We have that child in our thoughts and prayers, as anybody else that’s been affected by this case, this tragic event. We equally pray for them as well.”
