No murder indictment for woman in Avondale killing

CINCINNATI (FOX19) - A Hamilton County grand jury has declined to indict a woman on a murder charge for the fatal shooting of an Avondale woman earlier this month, the county prosecutor’s office confirmed Thursday.

The Hamilton County Prosecutor’s Office has determined Shaneisha Heath was defending herself and her 3-year-old child from Karissa Caldwell, 28, when Heath fatally shot Caldwell inside a Rockdale Avenue home early Jan. 17, according to Julie Wilson, a prosecutor’s office spokeswoman.

“After our review, we believe that it was self-defense and defense of others,” she said.

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Heath, 30, is still charged with having weapons under disability, Wilson confirmed.

She is held at the Hamilton County jail in lieu of $1 million bond, according to the Hamilton County Clerk of Courts.

After the shooting, Heath took to social media to profess her innocence.

The post shows Heath in tears riding in the back of an SUV saying she is hurt, and that she is not a murderer, she is not a killer and she is not evil.

Heath does not specifically name Caldwell but at one point does say quote, “Pick my baby up by her neck, holding her like this bro?” while showing her hands around her own throat.

According to our media partner at the Cincinnati Enquirer, Heath was previously convicted of shooting at four people while they were inside a car.

In 2009, Heath was sentenced to three years of probation. After several probation violations, she was sentenced to two years in jail in 2011.

In 2014, Heath was accused of hitting a woman with her vehicle, but that charge was dismissed for “want of prosecution.”

Heath also was accused of shooting at a woman while the victim was trying to drive away from a fight. Those charges, too, were dismissed for want of prosecution.

In 2015, Heath was accused of beating and robbing a woman. Again, the charges were dismissed for the same reason, according to the Enquirer.

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