MOULTRIE — A woman charged with murder has been granted immunity after arguing that she acted in self-defense.
Nineteen months after she was charged in the shooting death of Jason Chad McCollum, Katelyn Ireland was a free woman. Judge Brian McDaniel issued his ruling about her immunity on Thursday, and the District Attorney’s Office dropped the charges on Friday.
During a two-day hearing in April, Ireland maintained she acted in self-defense when she pulled the trigger on McCollum.
McCollum and his estranged wife were having an altercation the evening of Dec. 17, 2022, according to testimony in the hearing. Ireland, who is good friends with McCollum’s wife, witnessed the confrontation.
Noticing her standing in the doorway of the residence, McCollum turned his attention from his wife to Ireland, who was at the top of a wheelchair ramp, and he began approaching her.
Multiple testimonies in the hearing described what happened when McCollum reached the turning point of the ramp, although Ireland did not speak on her own behalf.
After Ireland shot her pistol, McCollum staggered back down the ramp, past his wife, to the front yard, where he eventually collapsed.
Ireland placed the call to 911 as she approached McCollum, who was gasping for air on the ground. He was pronounced dead later that night at the hospital.