In the late afternoon of May 18, 2025, 40-year-old James D. Carmack of Irvine was found unresponsive inside a vehicle on Richardson Road in McKee, Kentucky. He had sustained a fatal gunshot wound. Kentucky State Police took over the homicide investigation after Jackson County deputies located the scene; investigators say an unknown person shot Carmack and fled before officers arrived.

Detectives continued to work the case for months, following leads to reconstruct what happened that day. In October 2025 an Estill County grand jury returned an indictment charging James S. Bergman, 24, with Murder, Tampering with Physical Evidence, and Abuse of a Corpse after his August 20, 2025 arrest and lodging at the Three Forks Detention Center.

Who in the community might have information about Carmack’s movements or who was in the McKee area on May 18, 2025?