Officers testify in woman's reckless homicide case

LIMA — Testimony began at a jury trial Wednesday for a Lima woman accused of reckless homicide.

The trial in Allen County Common Pleas Court focuses on the death of 23-year-old Ja’Kia Battle, who died from a gunshot wound at the woman’s home in 2021.

In opening statements, Assistant Prosecutor Joe Everhart said the evidence would show Kiara Totty, 35, recklessly shot Battle because the gunshot didn’t occur at close range, but she’s not a “cold-blooded killer” and didn’t want Battle to die. Everhart also said Totty has said Battle brought the gun to her house, but evidence would show it was Totty’s gun.

Totty’s attorney, Darren Meade, said the state’s evidence is not compelling because the DNA on the gun was inconclusive, and no sufficient fingerprints were found, and the investigation was not thorough enough.

Former Allen County Sheriff’s Deputy Dylan Mohr, Deputy Ryan Ream, Sgt. Robert Wintersteller and Lima Police Det. Kent Miller testified Wednesday. Ream recalled Totty was distraught and emotional that night and yelled, “I can’t believe she did that,” referring to Battle allegedly shooting herself with the gun.

The jury also saw footage of Totty being held in Wintersteller’s cruiser while waiting for a detective to come to the scene and pictures of the scene and from Totty’s cellphone showing her posing with the gun.

This is the second time this case has been presented to a jury. A mistrial was declared in October 2023 because jurors couldn’t reach a unanimous verdict with a 10-2 split.

At the first trial, evidence showed Totty maintained her story to law enforcement that Battle died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound because she was playing with the gun, and Totty and Battle were in an ongoing casual romance for about a year.

A deputy coroner from the Lucas County Coroner’s Office, however, testified in 2023 that the gunshot that killed Battle, in his professional opinion, did not come from close range. Dr. Jeffrey Hudson cited the absence of gunpowder “soot” or stippling that is usually present in suicide cases to support his findings.

Totty did not take the witness stand during the trial, and no defense witnesses were called.

Reach Charlotte Caldwell at 567-242-0451.