Auburn Graduate's Death Ruled Homicide in Accidental Shooting

Two months after 22-year-old Whitney Robeson’s death on March 7, authorities have finally revealed how she died—and the findings paint a troubling picture of a life cut short by tragedy. The Jefferson County Coroner and Medical Examiner’s Office confirmed that Robeson died from a gunshot wound to the chest, with injuries to her left lung, heart, and aorta. The manner of death was ruled a homicide, though investigators determined it was accidental.

Jeffrey Scott Towers, the father of Robeson’s boyfriend, was arrested on Monday and charged with manslaughter in connection with the shooting. Despite the arrest and charge, police have yet to release detailed information about how they concluded the shooting was accidental—a gap in transparency that raises legitimate questions about what exactly happened that day in March.

Robeson was building a life with real promise. She’d earned her degree in interior design from Auburn University just a year earlier in May 2025 and had recently landed a position as a trade consultant for Restoration Hardware, a significant move for a young professional launching her career. By all accounts, she was thriving. Then, in a moment, everything changed.

The two-month lag between her death and Towers’arrest underscores how complicated these cases can be. An accidental death involving a firearm is still a tragedy, but it also invites scrutiny—especially when the person responsible is a parent of someone close to the victim. What circumstances led to the gun being fired? Was it truly a moment of carelessness, or something more? Until police provide those details, the Robeson family and the public are left with incomplete answers. Towers was released after posting a $30K bond, meaning this case will likely proceed through the courts with many questions still hanging in the air.

What happened in that house on March 7 remains partially shrouded. The facts we have are stark, but the full story—the one that might help us understand how a promising young woman’s life was taken—is still waiting to be told.