Monday, December 19, 2016

Jean Shepard's Granddaughter Murdered

Category: News

Just weeks after the death of Country Music Hall of Fame legend Jean Shepard the family has had a second tragedy inflicted on them.

In the early morning hours of Friday night/Saturday morning (12/17) Icey Sloan-Hawkins, the granddaughter of Jean Shepard, was stabbed to death during an altercation with her one-time boyfriend.  Shepard's widower, Benny Birchfield, was also stabbed.  He shot and killed the 21-year-old who attacked him and Sloan-Hawkins, according to a report in the Nashville Tennessean.

The incident happened about 3 AM Nashville time.  The man attacked Sloan-Hawkins, who had been living at her grandmother's to provide assistance as Shepard's health deteriorated due to Parkinson's disease, then attacked Birchfield when he came to investigate the commotion.  Birchfield retrieved a gun and killed the man.

Birchfield was released from the hospital today (12/19).  Sloan-Hawkins will be buried in Goodlettesville next to her grandfather, Hawkshaw Hawkins, who died in 1963 in a plane crash with Patsy Cline and Cowboy Copas.


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