After apprehending the suspect involved in the shooting, police inquired about the whereabouts of the child’s mother. Thats when they made a shocking discovery at the couples apartment
Soon after a 19-year-old was gunned down in Lynchburg, Virginia on Sept. 30 police allegedly made a shocking discovery at the suspected killer’s apartment.
Warrants obtained by local ABC13 news revealed more details about the case that has shocked the small Virginia town. According to warrants, Lynchburg Police Department officers responded to Faurlea Court for reports of a malicious wounding after the victim called a family member asking them to call 911 saying he had been shot.
When police arrived at the home they found 19-year-old Micah Cash Gaudio in the driver seat of a BMW SUV suffering from multiple gunshot wounds. “Life saving measures were attempted on Gaudio, but were unsuccessful as he succumbed to his injuries,” an arrest warrant reads.
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Lynchburg Police Department)
Police contacted Gaudio’s stepfather who gave them footage from the homes Nest cameras, which showed a man getting out of a silver Hyundai SUV holding a small child and approached Gaudio’s SUV. Gaudio can been seen getting out of his car before an altercation between the two men began.
“Gaudio confronts the male on why he is at his residence; during a short exchange Gaudio attempts to re-enter the BMW. The unidentified male subject is seen removing a handgun from his waist area with his right hand, point it at Gaudio and shoot into the vehicle at Gaudio. At least nine shots are fired by the male into the vehicle that strike Gaudio. The male is seen walking back and re-entering the Hyundai SUV with the child,” the warrants read.
Through a search of the vehicle records police were able to identify the shooter as Nathaniel Lee Pridemore and agencies in the area were alerted to be on the look out for the silver Hyundai.
Bedford County Sheriffs Office then received a report about a man matching Pridemore’s description walking down the street with the child.
“Deputies made contact with Pridemore, who was armed with a black handgun in his waistband,” the warrant says.
Pridemore was then taken into custody on Monday evening but authorities believed this was not the only shooting that Pridemore was connected to. Police questioned him about the whereabouts and wellbeing of the owner of the Hyundai SUV, Christina Hamilton, that Pridemore had been driving, according to the warrants.
“When asked if ‘Is Christina okay, where is she? Nathaniel responded by rolling his eyes upward. He was then asked ‘Is she in heaven?’ Nathaniel replied by grinning,” the warrant said.
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Lynchburg Police Department)
Detectives then made contact with Hamilton’s family who told them that they hadn’t been in touch with her her “for some time,” according to the warrants. Officials out of concern for Hamilton’s safety authorities went to do a welfare check at her apartment on Tunbridge Road. Lynchburg Police said the apartment was also the residence of Pridemore.
“After several failed attempts to make contact with Christina at the residence and via telephone, entry was made into the residence under exigent circumstances,” the search warrants read. “Inside, a deceased female was located lying on a bed with what appeared to be a single gunshot wound to the head.”
Police also discovered projections inside the walls, but further searching was needed to find any spent shell cases at the residence, the warrant said.
The child involved in the incident was safe according to police and would soon be put into the custody of family members. LPD Police Chief Ryan Zuidema said during a press conference on Tuesday that the child was three years old and that Hamilton and Pridemore were the parents.
Pridemore has not been charged in connection with Hamilton’s death as of right now but police say that he will likely be charged in connection with the killing. As of right now he faces charges of second-degree murder and felony child endangerment among other serious charges in connection with the shooting of Gaudio.
He is currently being held without bond.