Man Claims Accident in Fiancee's Death While Cleaning Gun, Police Say

A 21-year-old man from Michigan was arrested for reportedly killing his fiancée by shooting her in the neck. He said that his gun accidentally went off while he was cleaning it. Police said that Michael Devon Webb was arrested last week and charged with one count of first-degree murder and using a firearm to commit a crime in the death of Rachel Renee Wooten, who was 23 years old.

A news release from the Oakland Sheriff’s Office says that around 4 p.m. on Tuesday, April 15, 2025, officers were called to a home in Highland Township on the 200 block of Maple Drive because of a report of a shooting. The home is located about 40 miles northwest of Detroit, Michigan. Webb and Wooten lived with their 6-month-old child in the house where the killing is said to have happened.

Officials say that the caller said his name was Webb and that he told the emergency dispatcher that he “had shot his fiancée and himself.”

First rescuers found Wooten at the scene of the crime. He seemed to have been shot in the neck “at very close range,” according to a press release from the prosecutors’ office. The police said she was dead at the scene. During the event, the couple’s child was not hurt.

At the house, Webb was arrested by police. Police wrote that Webb first told them that the shot was “an accident” that happened “while he was cleaning his gun.” The news release did say, though, that the evidence found at the house “did not support” the idea that Wooten died from an accidental shot.

The Oakland County Prosecutor’s Office said Webb’s bullet wound, which he reportedly caused himself, was “apparently from the same bullet” that killed his fiancée.

This is what the prosecutor said: “Rachel Wooten was only 23 years old and had just given birth to a baby.” “She had her whole life ahead of her until it ended in what looks like a tragedy of domestic violence.” She’s not going to be there for her child or other people she cares about. I’m determined to find and punish the person who killed her.

In his own statement, Sheriff Michael Bouchard echoed what the lawyer said.

“I’m proud of our investigators and team for responding to a tragic death and finding a false story in order to hold someone responsible,”

After Webb was caught, he was taken to the Oakland County Jail. His arraignment was held on Friday in 52-1 District Court in Novi, Michigan, before Magistrate Judge Andra Richardson. He was told to stay in jail without bail. At this point, he is set to go back to court on April 30 for a probable cause hearing.

Michigan law says that someone who commits first-degree murder must serve life in jail without the chance of parole.

Wooten’s sister started a GoFundMe page where she called her a “beautiful” sister.

The page says, “Rachel was a wonderful woman, a loving mother, and also took good care of her stepson.” “She was also my rock, my best friend, and the best sister in the world.” Words can’t even begin to describe how terrible and painful this is.