VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. (WAVY) — The family of one of 12 people killed in the Virginia Beach mass shooting is calling for an independent investigation.
One issue the family of Katherine Nixon has is why it took so long for them to find out the location of her body.
Family attorney Kevin Martingayle said, “They didn’t know where Kate’s body was and didn’t find out where her body was until 24 hours after she was shot and killed.”
Martingayle says a family friend who is in the medical examiner’s office who knows Kate, recognized her and called her husband, Jason Nixon.
Katherine Nixon, 42, worked as an engineer in Virginia Beach’s public utilities department and had worked in the city for 10 years. A coworker described her in a Facebook post as a “sister and supervisor.”
The Nixon family, through Martingayle, are calling for an independent investigation to supplement the Virginia Beach Police and FBI Criminal investigation.
“We have called for an independent investigation to have a comprehensive study to study everything that led up to the shooting, and everything that occurred during the shooting, and everything that happened after the shooting particularly focused on the communication and the breakdown in communication,” Martingayle said.
The city responded to Martingayle’s request:
These requests were made to the City Council and the City Council, as a body, will determine the ultimate course; however, these requests appear premature while the criminal investigation is ongoing and these requests can be discussed and considered after, and with the benefit of, the findings of that investigation.
Julie Hill, communications director for Virginia Beach
Martingayle, who is a longtime family friend, says he is taking no money for what he is doing, and doesn’t expect a lawsuit. He says all he wants is clarity, comfort and closure for the family.
“We don’t know much about the shooter,” Martingayle said. “We know there were some employment concerns, and issues that Kate relayed to her husband. She had explained she didn’t think he was a very good engineer, that he had some performance and attitude problems, but she never got terribly specific.”
Jason Nixon apparently advised Kate to take a gun to work because she feared another employee who was in the process of being fired, but that turned out not to be the shooter. It turns out the one that was still employed was the one she had to worry about.
“She was shot shortly after 4 p.m.,” Martingayle said. “She called her husband at 4:06 p.m. Friday, she told him she had been shot and to call 911. He did that immediately, called her back and couldn’t reach her again. He shot her again and killed her.”
The city’s narrative is the shooter was not being fired, had not been disciplined, had performed satisfactorily, but the morning of the shooting submitted his resignation effective June 14.
“If it turns out that any part of the narrative is misleading or false, there should be severe consequences for anybody participating in a false narrative,” Martingayle said.