Girl, 19, kills herself during 'routine traffic stop' but victim's loved ones suspect foul play

Publish date: 2024-04-26

A Virginia mother is searching for answers after she was told by police that her 19-year-old daughter shot herself while handcuffed, during what initially has been described as a routine traffic stop.

Sarah Wilson was riding as a passenger in a car operated by 27-year-old Holden Medlin at 4.30pm last Wednesday when police officers pulled him over at the intersection of Berkley Avenue and Wilson Road in Chesapeake.

According to investigators, Medlin became 'disorderly' during the stop and resisted arrest, leading officers to use a Taser on him.

Police in Virginia said 19-year-old Sarah Wilson shot and killed herself after officers pulled over her boyfriend's ca Holden Medlin, 27, allegedly resisted arrest and was charged with drug and weapons possession

Police in Virginia said 19-year-old Sarah Wilson (left) shot and killed herself after officers pulled over her boyfriend's car. Holden Medlin (right), 27, allegedly resisted arrest and was charged with drug and weapons possession 

Medlin and Wilson were stopped by police in Chesapeake, Virginia, on July 25 (pictured)

Medlin and Wilson were stopped by police in Chesapeake, Virginia, on July 25 (pictured)

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During the altercation, police said Medlin's passenger, Wilson, grabbed a gun and shot herself in the head, reportedWAVY.

Medlin was later booked into the Chesapeake City Jail on drug charges and counts of obstruction with force, possession of a firearm by a felon and possession of a firearm with narcotics.

A week later, Wilson’s mother, Dawn, told 13 News Now she has a lot of questions about the circumstances surrounding her daughter's death.

‘In all of her life I have never known of her to shoot a gun, own a gun, or even hold a gun,’ said Dawn, who also has two younger daughters.

According to the mother, police offered her a different version of events than the one given to the media, namely, that Sarah was handcuffed but was still able to get hold of the revolver and put it in her mouth.

Dawn stressed that she is not pointing fingers at anyone, but as Sarah's mother, she deserves to know what actually happened.  

A friend of Sarah's has shared a disturbing cellphone video on her Facebook page, purportedly recorded by a bystander at the scene of the traffic stop At one point, one bystander crudely remarks to another: 'police shot the b****'

A friend of Sarah's has shared a disturbing cellphone video purportedly recorded by a bystander at the scene of the traffic stop showing her body on the ground. At one point, one bystander crudely remarks to another: 'police shot the b****'

Sarah's mother, Dawn Wilson (right), says she was told by police her daughter was handcuffed but managed to grab a revolver and put it in her mouth

Sarah's mother, Dawn Wilson (right), says she was told by police her daughter was handcuffed but managed to grab a revolver and put it in her mouth

Meanwhile, a friend of Sarah's has shared a disturbing cellphone video on her Facebook page, purportedly recorded by a bystander at the scene of the traffic stop.

In it, a woman's body is seen laying on the ground next to a white sedan, with police officers swarming the area.

At one point, one bystander crudely remarks to another: 'police shot the b****.'

The authenticity of the video has not been independently verified.

Chesapeake police spokesman Leo Kosinski spoke to Dailymail.com by phone on Wednesday afternoon about Sarah Wilson's death, stating: 'the police did not shoot her... she died from suicide.'

When asked to comment on the cellphone video, Kosinski said the person who recorded it arrived at the scene well after the incident.  

'He made that up,' the spokesperson said in reference to the claim that an officer shot Wilson. 'He did not see anything.'

Dawn Wilson said one of the officers at the scene was wearing a body camera, but she was allegedly told that the device malfunctioned.

Police previously said they won’t be releasing the body camera footage during the investigation.

On Wednesday, Lt Kosinski explained that the body camera did not malfunction, but rather Medlin knocked it off the officer's uniform during the struggle. 

He confirmed that Wilson had her hands restrained behind her back and said she was somehow able to reach into the car while an officer was not looking, grab the gun and take her own life. 

'If you have anything motivating you and you’re limber enough, you can wiggle,' he noted.  

Kosinski also stated that it was not, in fact, a routine traffic stop, but rather Medlin's vehicle was pulled over 'with legitimate probable cause.' He declined to go into further detail, citing the ongoing investigation.  

Sarah's mother said her 19-year-old daughter, who went by the nickname ‘Sunshine,’ was a moody teenager but did not have a history of depression.

Sarah¿s social media accounts indicate that she was in a relationship with Holden Medlin since 2017 (pictured together) 

Sarah’s social media accounts indicate that she was in a relationship with Holden Medlin since 2017 (pictured together) 

However, in early March she shared on her Facebook page a troubling post about depression, which read in part: 'why do people never talk about the part of depression when you just don't want anything anymore?...you just spend your day kinda waiting for it to end.'

Sarah’s social media accounts indicate that she was in a relationship with Holden Medlin, the driver arrested during the traffic stop, since 2017.

Her friend has launched a GoFundMe campaign to help with her funeral expenses. As of Wednesday morning, just $375 has been raised.  

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