JayShawn Taylor was 16 and a junior at Mount Juliet High School when he was fatally shot on November 15, 2018, at a gathering in Mount Juliet, Tennessee. The teenagers had met to sniff glue at the home of 15-year-old Ethen Vanderpool. According to accounts, Vanderpool became enraged after believing JayShawn was looking at one of the girls he was dating, grabbed JayShawn’s shirt, pushed him onto a bed, and shot him.

Vanderpool initially called 911 and alleged a home invasion, but the other teenagers at the scene later cooperated with investigators and provided accounts that contradicted that story. Vanderpool was arrested and charged with second-degree murder; the case was transferred from juvenile to adult court in March 2019. Text messages Vanderpool sent earlier the day of the shooting were introduced at trial as evidence of intent.

A Wilson County jury found Vanderpool guilty of second-degree murder after a four-day trial in September 2022, and he received a 22-year prison sentence. Any readers who knew JayShawn, were at the gathering, or have information relevant to the case are asked to come forward.