A Beloved Alabama Football Coach Was Fatally Shot: Why the Suspect's Lawyer Is Citing a 'Heat of Passion' Defense? By Rachel Raposas

A high school football coach in Alabama was killed in a shooting the suspect’s lawyer said occurred in the “heat of passion.”

Demetrice Darnell Beverly, a 39-year-old football coach at Parker High School in Birmingham, was fatally shot on Aug. 13, per AL.com, while he was visiting a female friend of his. Police have charged the woman’s boyfriend, De’Corlion Keshaun Robinson, with Beverly’s murder — and his lawyer is claiming the shooting was the result of emotions running high.

Beverly was visiting a female friend on Wednesday night when her boyfriend, Robinson, returned home, per the Birmingham Police Department. A preliminary investigation found that Robinson allegedly entered the bedroom where Beverly and the woman were, shot the victim and then fled the apartment. The woman then called 911, and police responded to the scene around 9 p.m.

Authorities found Beverly unresponsive inside the bedroom, and the Birmingham Fire and Rescue Service pronounced the victim deceased shortly thereafter.

The police department announced its arrest of Robinson late on Aug. 14. Robinson is charged with one count of murder and one count of unlawful possession of a machine gun conversion device. Initially held without bond, Robinson was granted $165,000 total bond for the charges on Aug. 18, per AL.com and his inmate record.

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Robinson’s defense attorney, Emory Anthony, said he and his client can seek a manslaughter charge “at best.”

“When you look at it, at best, it should have been manslaughter instead of murder, heat of passion under the facts of the case that will eventually come out,” Anthony said, per AL.com.

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Beverly’s loved ones are celebrating his life and holding his funeral this weekend, per his obituary page. Parker High School’s head football coach, Beverly’s colleague Frank Warren, told the outlet his friend was a great father, husband, coach and mentor.

“He’d give you the shirt off his back,” Warren said. “He brought energy every day. He brought the best out of these kids.”