Tenn. father of 5 killed in possible road rage shooting on Christmas
NASHVILLE, Tennessee (WSMV) — The wife of a man gunned down on Christmas Day shared memories of her husband on Monday, hoping it will bring her husband justice.
Chris Spaunhorst, 37, died after he was shot while driving his truck on I-24 on Sunday.
Metro Police believe the motive for Spaunhorst’s killing may have been road rage.
His wife, Stephanie, says Chris was returning to their Greenbrier home with presents after dropping his mother off at her home Sunday morning.
“He was a great man, he was a great daddy, he was a great baseball coach. He loved everybody,” Stephanie Spaunhorst said, through tears. “I feel like I can’t go on without him. My kids are devastated, his mom is devastated, I don’t know how I’m going to function without him.”
Stephanie says she and her husband were high school sweethearts and had been married for five years.
Chris was a father to five, often working 50 or 60-hour weeks to help provide for his family. He was an avid Arkansas Razorbacks fan and loved to fish and coach his kids’ baseball teams, Stephanie said.
“And now he’s gone, I didn’t even get to tell him goodbye, I didn’t get to tell him anything, he was just taken,” Stephanie said, crying.
Metro Police are asking for the public’s help in making an arrest.
If you saw Spaunhorst’s blue Ford F-150 on I-24 west around noon Christmas Day, or saw anything that could help investigators, they want to hear from you.
“If you know just the smallest thing, the smallest detail, if you saw his truck if you saw anything, reach out tell somebody. He deserves justice, we deserve answers,” Stephanie said. “He didn’t deserve to die like that, just left to die by himself. He just didn’t deserve that. My kids don’t deserve to grow up without a daddy.”
On Tuesday afternoon, the Metro Police said that a black sedan with a chrome trim is believed to be the car the suspect was driving when they shot Spaunhort’s car. Officials said it’s unclear whether or not the car hit Spaunhorst’s pickup truck. Officials added the car may have damage.
A family friend has organized a GoFundMe to help the Spaunhorsts and pay for Chris’ funeral expenses.