The attorney of a 20-year-old woman accused of killing her friend in a car on the Peoria riverfront in June is asking for his client to be released from the Peoria County Jail, saying that she didn’t shoot the woman intentionally and that the incident was a “horrific accident.”
In a motion filed Dec. 15 in Peoria County Circuit Court, Kankakee-based attorney Brian Hiatt asked the court for relief for his client, Deziaah Hunter, from a detention order filed on June 5 after she was charged with aggravated battery for her alleged role in the death of 18-year-old Kenadee Wallenfang along the Peoria riverfront.
Hunter was eventually charged with first-degree murder on June 24, a few weeks after Wallenfang of Pekin was taken off life support at a Peoria hospital.
Hiatt said that detention wasn’t necessary for Hunter because evidence couldn’t prove that she was guilty of either murder or aggravated battery. The evidence, according to Hiatt, showed that Hunter, Wallenfang and the other person in the vehicle with them were friends when the shooting occurred at around 3 p.m. on June 3, with multiple people and vehicles nearby.
He said that a hole in the headrest of the driver’s seat had gunshot residue, indicating that the gun had been fired behind the headrest and traveled through it before the bullets hit Wallenfang. After the shooting, Hiatt said that Hunter tried to resuscitate Wallenfang, with police noticing that she had a substantial amount of blood on her hands and clothing when they arrived on scene.
Hiatt also said that his client was extremely distraught, asking if Wallenfang was dead in the presence of police. Officers also noted that she was intoxicated, to an extent that she wasn’t interviewed until the next day. According to Hiatt, body camera footage showed that she may have been under the influence of one or more substances at the time.
When Hunter finally spoke with police, she acknowledged she was in possession of a gun and held it next to her head while leaning on the driver’s seat. She told detectives that the gun fired accidentally and that she had no intention of killing Wallenfang.
Hiatt said that it stretched credibility to contend Hunter would intentionally shoot her friend in the presence of another friend in broad daylight along the riverfront, surrounded by multiple witnesses, and remain at the scene to try and render aid to Wallenfang.
He said the evidence would show that instead of an intentional act, Hunter accidentally shot and killed a close friend.
Hiatt also noted that Hunter had only one significant criminal violation – a misdemeanor charge of criminal damage to property from April 2025 where she received court supervision. He also noted that she lived in the Peoria area, living with her mother at the time of her arrest.
In the motion, Hiatt argued the nature and circumstances of what happened did not constitute anything intentional and that Hunter’s history and characteristics would demonstrate that she would comply with any pre-trial release conditions, such as GPS monitoring, house arrest and substance abuse treatment.
Hiatt also filed a motion for discovery on Dec. 15, asking for prosecutors to reveal anyone they intend to call as a witness at trial, along with any oral statements made by Hunter, a transcript of grand jury testimony, any expert statements, any documents planned to be used by prosecutors, any record of prior criminal convictions for witnesses, any records of electronic surveillance of conversations to which Hunter was a party to and any material that could negate Hunter’s potential guilt.
A scheduling conference is set for Jan. 22 at 1 p.m., where the motion will be discussed prior to trial. The trial itself is set for Feb. 2 at 9 a.m., with Circuit Judge Katherine Gorman presiding over the proceedings.
This article originally appeared on Journal Star: Woman accused of killing friend in Peoria shooting asks for release
Reporting by Zach Roth, Peoria Journal Star / Journal Star
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