Dad fatally shoots 6-year-old as he puts her to bed, AR cops say. He’s sentenced
_fitted.png "Caroline Chadick was shot to death in Arkansas, officials said. Her father, Jordan Chadick, pleaded guilty to second-degree murder.")
An Arkansas man accused of fatally shooting his 6-year-old daughter as he was putting her to bed was sentenced to prison.
Jordan Chadick pleaded guilty to second-degree murder, according to court records. He was sentenced on May 2 to 30 years in prison.
McClatchy News was unable to reach Chadick’s attorney for comment.
On May 29, 2023, the Garland County Sheriff’s Office was called to a home for reports of a shooting, a probable cause statement said.
When deputies went inside the home that night, they found Chadick with blood on him and on his wife Melissa Chadick, who was holding their 6-year-old daughter Caroline’s “lifeless” body, court records said.
When deputies asked Jordan Chadick what happened, he said they were going to bed and he “got his gun that he uses to protect his family” and the gun ”went off,” court records said. He then told them, “I don’t know what happened,” according to the court document.
Caroline died from a gunshot wound to the head, court records said.
Caroline loved to dance and competed in dance competitions, her obituary said. She also loved drawing and swimming.
She had just finished kindergarten and “was very eager to learn,” according to the obituary.
What happened to Caroline?
Two days later, investigators interviewed Melissa Chadick’s sister. She told them that while she was at the scene of the shooting, she overheard Jordan Chadick telling Melissa, “we got to get our stories straight,” court records said.
The sister said Jordan and Melissa Chadick, who were separated, had been arguing that day and Jordan Chadick left her residence with their daughter to go home. Later, the sister was on the phone with Melissa Chadick when she arrived at Jordan Chadick’s home and heard him tell her “get ready, get ready,” then heard her scream, court records said.
Another family member who was at the scene told investigators that Jordan Chadick told him the “gun hit my hip,” court records said.
Multiple people told officials Jordan Chadick smelled of alcohol and had a history of drug use and may have been under the influence of drugs at the scene, officials said.
A neighbor told officials that the couple fought a lot and the night of the incident her soon heard a loud bang and she heard Jordan Chadick scream, court records said. She said when she went to his apartment to see what was going on, Jordan Chadick told her “everything is not ok” and “oh my God, my daughter’s dead, what have I done,” according to the court documents.
The neighbor left and called 911 and when she went back to his door, Jordan Chadick opened it and she saw Caroline lying in a pool of blood, the probable cause statement said. She said she then heard Jordan Chadick call his wife and say “I just killed our daughter,” according to officials.
When investigators spoke with Melissa Chadick, she told them she and Jordan had been arguing that day and he left her home with Caroline. She said when she arrived at his home later that night he met her outside and told her to prepare herself. That’s when she ran inside and picked up her daughter’s body, officials said.
She also told investigators that there were several times throughout their marriage that Jordan Chadick held a gun to her head, according to the court records.
When investigators spoke with Jordan Chadick, he told them that he took the gun out of his backpack before he and Caroline went to bed. Officials said he gave different versions of what happened and told them the gun must have discharged when it hit his leg, according to court records.
This story was originally published May 5, 2025 at 5:33 PM with the headline "Dad fatally shoots 6-year-old as he puts her to bed, AR cops say. He’s sentenced."
