UPDATE 10:15 A.M., OCT 22 – Judge Joy Booth has kept Tatum’s bond at $400,000, but changed it to a CASH BOND, per Chief Assistant District Attorney C.J. Robinson.
BY SARAH STEPHENS
ELMORE/AUTAUGA NEWS
TOP PHOTO: SOCIAL MEDIA POST BY VICTIM SUMMER TATUM, SHOWN WITH THE SUSPECT, HUSBAND HUNTER TATUM.
More alleged details in the death of Summer Knight Tatum, and the child she was carrying when she was shot twice in the head this past weekend in Prattville, were revealed during a court appearance this afternoon before Circuit Judge Joy Booth in Autauga County.
The child she was carrying also died after an emergency cesarean section. The accused is Hunter James Tatum, the deceased woman’s husband, and the father of the deceased infant.
“It was the first appearance,” Chief Assistant District Attorney C.J. Robinson said. “I know there were some close friends of the victim in the courtroom and it was extremely emotional for them.”
Among the new details released in court today is that the victim, Summer, was shot twice in the head, and the prosecution alleges it was an execution. Summer had cerebral Palsy and was carrying her unborn son which was due to be born in February 2022. It was also revealed that prosecution officials believe Tatum was having a “sexting” affair with a woman from England.
They believe Summer was shot during an argument, because she had discovered the affair.
Trey Norman is serving as the defense attorney for Tatum. The defendant did not appear in court, but communicated with Judge Booth via video conference. Norman requested a bond reduction for his client, which is currently set at $400,000 and Tatum remains in Autauga County Metro Jail.
The prosecution requested a bond increase, saying Tatum could be a flight risk, but a specific amount of increase was not requested.
Judge Booth will make a decision regarding bond at a later time, and said she would take information from the prosecution and defense under advisement.
So far, Tatum has not been able to make bond on the charges against him. However, when asked if he did make bond, where he would live, he told Judge Booth it would be with his mother in Prattville.
If he does make bond, he would have to wear an ankle monitor, surrender a passport and any firearms to authorities.
The prosecution asked that the bond amount be increased significantly, and that it be made a cash bond.
The prosecution stressed that Tatum “is a flight risk. He was having an affair with a female that lives overseas, possibly England.” Assistant District Attorney Sarah Speaks said, “He has been to Europe before and has ties to another country. We believe this affair he was having was the main reason and the motive, that he killed his wife.
“The nature of the offense…he didn’t just kill his wife, he executed his pregnant wife. This was a violent crime. We have a statement that amounts to a confession of a coldblooded execution. (Summer Tatum) was on her knees. The last thing she said was something along the lines of ‘please don’t kill me, please don’t shoot.’ It doesn’t get any more violent then that.”
Defense Attorney Norman said, “First let me say this is a thankless position of defending a defendant in a case like this. We have had a tragic loss of life times two. This court has a duty, by law, to balance the rights that the defendant still has with justice for the victim. And all of that has to be done in a delicate manner. It is real easy in cases like this that everybody feels sorry for the victim and the loss of life. I do. But at the same time the defendant has rights that men have died on the battlefield for. We would argue that yes, there is a statement that my client gave without lawyering up. There is a statement that doesn’t say ‘I killed my wife in cold blood.’”
Norman said he has not seen the statement, but did talk to his client. Paraphrasing what he said he was told, Norman said, “The statement says that ‘we struggled for a gun. I had a gun on my side of the table, she had a gun on her side of the bed and table. Her gun was a .38 revolver and she got the gun out and we struggled for that gun. During the struggle she fell and I ended up with the gun.’ And I will let the statement speak for itself. It doesn’t say anyone killed anyone in cold blood. That is up to the jury.”
Norman said Tatum is still considered innocent until proven guilty.
According to Norman the facts of this case are: Hunter Tatum graduated from high school, on the Prattville LaCrosse team. He is a CT Medical Tech in New Orleans. Norman said Tatum has “never been in a fist fight. Never goes to bars. The only thing on his record is a speeding ticket.”
Norman continued, “I would represent to the court that the facts that will come out to the jury is yes, he was having a sexting relationship with an overseas female. Mrs. Tatum found his phone Friday it led to an argument carried over to Saturday. He tried to beg her and plead with her to stay with him and reconcile. He said he made a mistake.
“ That carried into Sunday. (Hunter Tatum) went to get them something to eat because they hadn’t had anything to eat in three days because of all the stress and turmoil his sexting had caused the relationship. He got back and there was an Xbox or Play Station that Mrs. Tatum had put in the sink with water and other items of a personal nature had been thrown away. Next thing he knew they were in bed and the gun comes out.
“Any speculation beyond that I would ask this court not to consider. What we are here on today is we have two murder charges. We are way outside the guidelines right now. We have a man who is not a flight risk who has never been arrested, the police have never even been called to his house. He has no violent tendencies. Anyone in his family when they read this, nobody can believe it. This couple did not have issues.”
Norman argued that to keep Tatum in jail on a $400,000 bond is “tantamount to no bond at all.”
After the hearing, Robinson said “As of now, that bond of $400,000 hasn’t been changed,” Robinson said. “Judge Booth will review as much as she can.”
Robinson went on to say, “With law enforcement, we discussed charges that would be appropriate in this case. Some of the facts that came out I know were shocking to those in the courtroom. As part of our argument, she was shot not once but twice. We made the argument that it was an execution style shooting as opposed to (them) grappling over a firearm. When you are shot twice in the head that is not usually consistent with an act of self defense.
“She was six months pregnant and I know we have been asked if we would consider Capital Murder. My response would be absolutely. That is a question we will probably decide in the grand jury process. That is a very medical heavy question that would require doctors and test and reports. It is not something we can make in this short of a window right now. But it is certainly something we will consider.
“We like to present the grand jury with options and let them decide. But to do that I need all the cards on the table. So, I will need those medical reports, that doctor’s testimony, to be able to give them the ability to decide what charges to go with.”
Robinson does not foresee the grand jury receiving the case before the end of the year.
“There is absolutely no way to have all the necessary medical and forensics reports to go that soon,” he said.
As far as a motive in this case, Robinson said, “I think he (Hunter Tatum) is evil. I think anybody that could shoot their pregnant, disabled wife twice in the head is absolutely evil. Now is that motive over an affair? We believe it was.
“She was executed, and she was pregnant, she had cerebral palsy and the child is dead. And a couple of days ago she had a six-month-old baby inside of her that was alive. And today she doesn’t. What happened between those two? Well, she was shot in the head twice.”
Robinson said a preliminary hearing will be held Nov. 4 and will go a long way to answer any remaining questions as to motive, and other evidence.
For his current murder charges, if found guilty, Tatum could be looking at a Class A Felony that carries 10 to 99 years or life per count.
“At the end of the day we want two things. We want the truth to come out and we want justice for the family,” Robinson said.
A GoFundMe account has been established concerning the double homicide. As of Thursday afternoon $9,035 has been raised of a $40,000 goal. The funds will be used to help with funeral and other expenses incurred by the family.
Find the link here https://www.gofundme.com/f/funeral-expenses-for-summer-and-baby
Summer posted about her pregnancy and her excitement in meeting her then unborn son, on social media prior to her death. Many happy photos document her relationship and marriage to the suspect Hunter Tatum.
Officers were called to the residence after the shooting and medics transported Summer to the hospital. An emergency cesarean section brought the infant into the world, but a few hours later both Summer and her son had died.
Earlier in October, Summer wrote on social media, “We are on to our next adventure, and we’re more than halfway there! We had our anatomy scan last week and everything looks perfect so far. There were just a few things not visualized so we get to have another look in a couple of weeks. I am so blessed by this pregnancy, but it has been HARD, and at this point I can only assume it’ll be that way to the end. We are so excited to meet our baby BOY.”
Meanwhile, we reported the following information earlier concerning the fact that pregnant women are often the victims of violence and/or murder. For that information visit
