Man charged with killing Alabama cheerleader seeks dismissal on self-defense claim

Steven Tyler Whitehead, 28, is charged with murder and attempted murder for the October 19 shooting that killed 18-year-old Kimber Mills, a senior cheerleader from Cleveland High School, at a bonfire site called “The Pit” outside Birmingham. Whitehead arrived after midnight and, according to the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office, fired into a crowd of 40 to 50 people following a verbal altercation. Four individuals were shot; Mills suffered a fatal head wound, while three others survived.

Witness Silas McCay described confronting Whitehead and being overpowered before the gun was drawn. Whitehead maintains he acted in self-defense, a claim that will be examined at a pre-trial immunity hearing set for December 7. If the judge grants immunity, the charges would be dismissed and Mills’s family could not pursue a civil suit. The case continues to draw attention in the local community.