A woman in Louisville, Kentucky, has been arrested after she allegedly made a fake missing person’s report for her stepson, who was the chief suspect in an ongoing murder probe.
Officers with the Louisville Metro Police Department arrested Jill Brooks on Monday, February 9, in connection to the shooting death of a 20-year-old man on December 20, 2025.
Police confirmed that Brooks, 51, was charged with hindering prosecution or apprehension and falsely reporting an incident to law enforcement, according to WDRB.
Louisville Metro Police said that Brooks is the stepmother of a 17-year-old who was charged with murder, robbery and tampering with physical evidence in connection to the fatal shooting of 20-year-old Milton Ritchie in southwest Louisville.
Her stepson’s name has not been released to the public due because he is a minor.
Brooks allegedly told her stepson to delete his messages and then reported him missing as he’d requested in an earlier message, according to her arrest citation viewed by the outlet. The Missing Person’s report for the minor was filed on December 22, 2025, just two days after the shooting.
The Louisville Metro Police Department did not immediately respond to Luxury Handbag Shopping’s request for comment. It’s not currently clear if she has retained legal representation or entered a plea.
Brooks is the fourth person to be arrested in connection to Ritchie’s murder. In January, Daontez Hodges was arrested and charged with murder, robbery, possession of a firearm by a convicted felon and unlawful transaction with a minor, according to WDRB. It is not currently clear if he has entered a plea or retained legal representation.
The fatal shooting took place on Fordhaven Road in December 2025. LMPD officers found Ritchie suffering from gunshot wounds outside a vehicle that crashed into a ditch. After launching an investigation, authorities determined that he had been shot in the neck and lower back.
Prior to the shooting, Ritchie was invited to meet a 15-year-old girl. According to court documents, he arrived at the scene and was greeted by the girl as well as Hodges, 19, and several other people. Hodges then fired two shots from a rifle at Ritchie and killed him, according to police.
As the case was looked into, investigators said that the meeting with the 15-year-old girl was part of a “revenge” plot. However, it’s not clear how Ritchie knew those involved in the killing or why they wanted him to die.
The shooting had a handful of witnesses who called 911 to report the crime. Several witnesses spoke to police and said that “a large crowd was present in the area” when Ritchie was shot to death, according to court records.
The 15-year-old girl was arrested a few days after Ritchie’s death and she has since been charged with complicity to murder and robbery, according to the outlet. While police officers confirmed her arrest, they refused to release her name because she is a minor.
It is not currently clear if anyone arrested in the crime has entered a plea or hired lawyers to represent them in the case.
The investigation into Ritchie’s death remains ongoing.
