If you were awoken by an intruder at 4am and found him or her standing over your son with a knife, you’d probably shoot them, right? What if they had an Insane Clown Posse mask on? That’s the position that Heather Tacket of Prairie Township, OH found herself in over the weekend, and she did what most would do in that situation – yelled at the intruder and fired a shot. The guy took off through her backyard, and the next afternoon, police came to her house to announce that she’d killed 17 year-old Reb Barbee. It turns out that Barbee was a friend of her son’s. In fact, Heather had fed him dinner and he’d stayed in her home overnight before. Tackett spoke to the Columbus Dispatch:
“I am devastated,” Tackett said. “I really liked that kid and I was really good to him, and it breaks my heart he’d enter my home like that.”
Barbee had snuck in to the house with the help of three friends. After being shot in the back, he ran with his friends back to his house. An hour later, one of his friends, 18 year-old Adam Pickens, picked up the phone and called 911, claiming he didn’t know what happened because he didn’t want to get his friend in trouble. Barbee was taken to a hospital, where he died less than an hour later. Pickens and his other friends, both 17, were arrested. The two 17 year-olds are facing delinquency counts of murder and complicity to aggravated burglary. Pickens is facing those charges in adult court and is being held on $250,000 bond. Tackett didn’t call 911, claiming she didn’t think she hit him. She says that her son and Barbee hadn’t hung out in about a year, saying it was because he “didn’t like what his friend was getting involved in.” No word on whether that means Insane Clown Posse.
