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Girlfriend Of Suspect In The Shooting Death Of 5-Year-Old Cannon Hinnant Case Accused Of Helping Him Escape
Darius Nathaniel Sessoms' girlfriend Aolani Takemi Marie Pettit has been charged with felony accessory after the fact for allegedly providing him with transportation to leave Wilson, North Carolina.
The girlfriend of a North Carolina man accused of fatally shooting his 5-year-old neighbor in the head has now been arrested on allegations she helped him get out of town after the shooting.
Darius Nathaniel Sessoms, 25, allegedly ran up to Cannon Hinnant, 5, as the boy was riding his bicycle and playing with his two sisters in Wilson in August. Seemingly without reason, Sessoms allegedly shot the child in the head, killing him, before pacing around with the murder weapon. He then allegedly fled the scene.
He was arrested in Goldsboro, which is located a little more than 25 miles away from Wilson, that same day, according to the Wilson Police Department. Police now allege that Sessoms’ girlfriend Aolani Takemi Marie Pettit, 21, helped Sessoms after the shooting. She was arrested Tuesday and charged with felony accessory after the fact. She allegedly provided transportation so he could flee town, WRAL reports.
Pettit's next court date has been set for Oct. 12. She’s being held on a $250,000 secured bond. She has requested an attorney but it's unclear if she has obtained one yet.
Sessoms remains behind bars without bond for first-degree murder.
Just one day before the deadly shooting, Sessoms had dinner over at the Hinnant family home. He also shared a beer with the child’s father out on the porch. He had known the family for eight years.
"There wasn't anything between me and him, any bad blood whatsoever, for him to have a reason to do this," Austin Hinnant, Cannon's father, told WRAL in August.
The slain child was known for his big smile.
“Cannon was the type of kid that was always polite, kind of laid back, but he was a beautiful little kid,” his godfather Merrill Race said at his August funeral, WTVD reported.
Anyone with information on this case is urged to contact the Wilson Police Department at 252-399-2323 or Crime Stoppers at 252-243-2255.
