A man in Indiana is facing years in prison after his wife’s death. Although Cameron Tomlinson didn’t intend to kill his wife, he was still responsible for her losing her life. His wife reportedly insisted that he carry his gun for their night out. Apparently, she was being fashion conscious and believed the firearm would complete his look. But because she was holding their baby at the same time, she apparently wasn’t practicing safe gun handling. Even though Tomlinson initially said his wife shot herself, he eventually changed his tune, admitting he played a bigger role in the shooting that ultimately cost his wife her life.
Officers from the Kokomo Police Department responded to a report of a shooting around 7 p.m. on February 24, 2026, a news release noted. The person who called 911 said a woman in the home had a self-inflicted gunshot wound. When police officers arrived at the home, they found 21-year-old Jessica Tomlinson on the floor with a gunshot wound to her torso.
“Responding officers were initially informed that Jessica was handling a firearm and accidentally shot herself,” the release read. “Officers discovered Tomlinson’s 1-month old infant was being held by Jessica when the shooting occurred and suffered what appeared to be a gunshot wound to the infant’s hand.”
Medics arrived, but despite life-saving measures, Jessica Tomlinson died. The baby was taken to Community Howard Regional Health Hospital before being transferred to Riley Children’s Hospital in Indianapolis. As of February 25, the infant was listed in stable condition.
WXIN obtained court documents that revealed more about the incident. Cameron Tomlinson initially told police that he and his wife had been getting ready for a night out. She allegedly told him he should carry his revolver because it “went well with his outfit.”
He claimed Jessica then retrieved the gun from the safe and was handling it while holding their daughter.
In his initial version of the story, Tomlinson said he never touched the gun, WXIN reported. He told police he warned his wife to be careful with the gun because the hammer was in the “cocked position.” Then he said his wife was trying to open the revolver’s cylinder with one hand because she was still holding their daughter.
That’s when the gun went off, hitting her in the chest and their daughter in the hand. But when police pressed him, he quickly changed his story, per the news outlet. According to court documents, Tomlinson told police his wife was holding the gun in a way “he didn’t like.” She wasn’t holding it by the grip but instead by the cylinder with the barrel pointing downward.
He explained that he reached out to grab the gun from his wife, and as he pulled it away, it went off, WXIN reported. The police officer asked him if he grabbed the gun by the grip and if he touched the trigger as he reached for the gun. Tomlinson said he must have, adding “to sum it up, that means I shot her.”
The husband said he put the gun down on the bed so he could administer life-saving measures to Jessica. At the time, he didn’t even notice his daughter was hurt.
Cameron Tomlinson has been charged with reckless homicide and two counts of criminal recklessness. Records obtained by Law & Crime show he was being held at the Howard County Jail on a $15,000 cash-only bond and he is not allowed to have contact with his daughter. His pretrial conference has been scheduled for May 20.
