She pleaded guilty in a fatal Lexington shooting. Now she must prove she’s an abuse victim
A Lexington woman who agreed to plead guilty to amended charges related to a homicide must now prove she was a victim of domestic violence in order to avoid five years in prison.
Mia White, 41, pleaded guilty to an amended charge of second degree manslaughter. She was originally charged with murder — domestic violence in May 2025 for the death of 24-year-old Elmer Eldridge.
White previously confirmed to police she shot Eldridge, who she claimed was attacking her with a glass liquor bottle.
But in order to avoid jail time, her attorney, Daniel Whitley, must now help prove White was the victim in multiple incidents of domestic abuse, and that she believed there was a direct threat to her life at the time the shooting occurred.
“The commonwealth has victimized this woman on multiple occasions,” Whitley told the Herald-Leader. “But they acknowledge she’s a victim by amended the charges and turn around and say, ‘Prove it’ with this new hearing.”
Fayette Commonwealth’s Attorney Kim Baird said her office does advocate for victims of domestic violence, but because Eldridge died at the hands of White, it’s the office’s responsibility to ensure his rights are protected as well.
This will be the third time White has faced a judge to hear arguments about why she was justified in using deadly force after being repeatedly assaulted and confined to a bedroom.
What led up to the shooting
Previous hearings and court filings show that White had experienced abuse by Eldridge.
After her arrest the day of the shooting, police documented significant evidence — including photos of strangulation — to indicate White may have shot Eldridge to protect herself.
At the time of the shooting, Eldridge was in violation of an emergency protection order, violated his probation by having a gun, and also violated federal law being a felon in possession of a firearm, according to Whitley.
White and her lawyers had attempted to argue the charges should be dismissed altogether because she had grounds for self-defense. But at a court hearing in October 2025, Fayette Circuit Judge Kim Bunnell denied White’s request to dismiss the case. Bunnell said questions remained that she felt were the responsibility of a jury to answer.
According to previous evidence presented, on the day of the shooting, White had been strangled multiple times by Eldridge before she sought refuge in a closet. Police evidence shows Eldridge broke the closet door, strangled White again and then confined her to the bedroom.
Evidence and testimony presented shows that White struggled to breathe, and Eldridge took her inhaler, which was later found in his pocket. All the while, a handgun was on the nightstand in the room.
While confined to the bedroom, White said nearly an hour went by between her assault and when she shot Eldridge. This was one discrepancy in the events that Bunnell said could affect the case.
But White asserts she was under watch by Eldridge, and the first chance she got, when Eldridge turned his back to her, she grabbed the gun. She says Eldridge responded by grabbing a Crown Royal liquor bottle and raising it to strike her.
She shot him several times, once while he was on the ground, and told a roommate to call 911 according to testimony.
When police arrived, they noticed that the liquor bottle was on the nightstand, another fact that White said she could not account for in explaining how the bottle got there.
“If he came at her with a bottle, that is absolutely life-threatening,” Bunnell surmised.
Judge questions whether murder charge was appropriate
Bunnell questioned several aspects of the incident: Who was the initial aggressor if Eldridge saw White with a gun? How could White account for the hour that went by before she shot? Why was the liquor bottle found not by his body, but on the nightstand?
One of White’s attorneys, Shayla Lyles, argued that despite the judge’s questions, state prosecutors would not be able to prove without a doubt that White didn’t act in self-defense.
“(White) would have left with a physical injury or death that night, and it would be hard for the commonwealth to prove otherwise,” Lyles said.
Ultimately, Bunnell said there was enough evidence to prove White acted unlawfully, but not that she committed murder.
“I am struggling with the fact that (White) was indicted for murder,” Bunnell told prosecutors. “I am not sure how much time and consideration was spent with the grand jury about their options for an indictment. If they spent more than 20 minutes explaining how all self-defense works with the case and how they came back and go, ‘Ya know, we this is manslaughter, or reckless (homicide), that would have really been nice.”
Whitley said White’s case was another example of how prosecutors “stack charges” — meaning they charge higher than what they can prove — only to result in someone taking a plea deal with lesser time.
“They over indict, the person sits in jail while (prosecutors) work out misdemeanor charges and low-level plea deals,” Whitley said.
He also said the prosecutors’ actions place judges in a bad position to make hard decisions that prosecutors should be responsible for.
Baird said amending charges later does not necessarily mean White was overcharged to begin with.
“The standard of proof for a grand jury is sufficient cause,” Baird said. “The grand jury is not the ultimate trier of fact so what is indicted may not necessarily end up being how the case is resolved.”
She told the Herald-Leader while she was limited in what she could say about an ongoing case, her office spoke with the defense and victim’s family to negotiate an agreement on amended charges.
Will White avoid prison time?
Whitley will argue why his client should be exempt from serving prison time, despite her guilty plea, at an upcoming July 9 hearing.
White and her defense team hope they can prove that self-defense was justified enough to avoid time behind bars.
Under Kentucky law, a hearing can be conducted for felony offenders to receive probation or conditional release if it was established that the person “previously or was engaged” in acts of domestic violence or abuse.
Bunnell will be required to hear and make findings to determine whether White was in fact a victim of domestic violence.
Family members and friends of White have written to the judge to ask for leniency on White’s behalf.
White’s oldest sister, Tameka Penney, said her sister had a tendency to trust and see the good in others, despite troubling flaws they may have.
“In no way is life viewed by Mia as worthless or to be haphazardly ended,” Penney wrote. “There would have to be an extremely severe occurrence for Mia to defend herself to such a point, that she ended a precious life.”
A Paris-based non-profit, The Voyage Movement, dedicated to youth workforce development and community empowerment, wrote on White’s behalf saying she was a dedicated mother deserving of compassion.
“The circumstances that bring Ms. White before this court are tragic in every sense of the word,” wrote director Terry Dumphord. “A life was lost – and that carries its own grief, its own weight. However, I ask this court to consider the full truth of the situation: Ms. White acted not out of malice, not out of recklessness, but out of a primal and fundamental human instinct – the need to protect her own life.
“Self-defense is not a crime,” Dumpford wrote. “It is a last resort. And no person should have to choose between their life and their freedom.”
