KY Supreme Court reverses manslaughter conviction of man who shot his friend on vacation
The Kentucky Supreme Court has reserved a manslaughter conviction against an Ohio man who shot and killed his friend during a vacation at the Red River Gorge in 2020, according to court documents.
Troy Dunkelberger, 36, was convicted of first-degree manslaughter at a Wolfe County Circuit Court jury trial in May 2023, according to court records. Kentucky State Police previously said he shot 31-year-old Jarron Slayback during an argument outside a cabin on Lakeside Drive in the Zoe community of Wolfe County.
Dunkelberger was sentenced to 20 years in prison for the conviction, according to court records. He filed an appeal to the Supreme Court a month after the sentencing.
The Supreme Court ruled this week that evidence labeling Dunkelberger as the aggressor should not have been used at trial.
Dunkelberger screamed Slayback’s name and flashed his holstered firearm before fatally shooting him. The Supreme Court ruled that those actions did not meet the standard for labeling Dunkelberger as the aggressor.
“To qualify for an initial aggressor instruction there must be some act of unlawful physical force first perpetrated by the defendant which in turn gives rise to a right to defend oneself in the victim,” the ruling read. “Neither yelling a name nor displaying a holstered, lawfully possessed firearm constitutes an unlawful act of physical force.”
The ruling also said the trial court abused its discretion in presenting the evidence because it was insufficient.
“We instruct the trial court that if a re-trial is conducted upon the same evidence, an initial aggressor instruction is not to be given,” the ruling said.
This story was originally published March 20, 2025 at 2:11 PM.
