Tampa Bay True Crime Series: Victim's little sister claims inappropriate conduct caused rift between friends
TAMPA, Fla. - On December 13, 2019, a frantic teenage boy called 911 to report his friend, Bradley Hulett, had been shot.
The teen told investigators another of his friends, 15-year-old Christopher Bevan, aka Ramsey, pulled the trigger. Months after the shooting, Bevan was charged with manslaughter.
It started as a typical Friday. Four teenage boys were at the home of Tampa police officer Edwin Perez, whose son was Bradley’s best friend.
While Bradley played video games on a computer, the three others wandered off.
One of boys, identified as "TT," told detectives what happened next.
PART I: Tampa Bay True Crime Series: The shooting death of Bradley Hulett
"He sees his dad‘s gun sitting there on top of like a little table thing in the corner of the bathroom and picks it up and he says, ‘Let’s go scare Bradley’" recalled TT. "Ramsey says, ‘Put it behind his neck so he gets scared,’ … I walk into the room and Ramsey has the gun and he’s like playing with it and then he says, ‘What if it’s loaded?’ and then it went off and hit Bradley.'"
A year and a half after Bradley was killed, a surprising revelation reveals there may have been bad blood between Bradley and Ramsey months before the shooting.
Christopher Bevan
MORE: Report shows pulling the trigger on gun that killed Bradley Hulett took 8.4 pounds of pressure
Hulett family attorney Anthony Rickman said the night of the shooting was the first time Bradley and Ramsey were together since their falling out.
So what led to the fallout between the two?
Bradley's father, Brad Hulett remembered a conversation he had with his daughter, Ava.
Bradley Huelett
"Ava went to Bradley and asked him to put an end to it, so he did," he said. "There was some inappropriate things that happened late at night. Bradley was in bed. Ramsey had gone to her room a couple of times, three times."
During a taped police interview after the shooting, detectives looking for a possible motive asked Ava about Ramsey allegedly coming to her room while at the Hulett home.
RELATED: Affidavit: Friend wanted to scare Bradley Hulett before deadly shooting at officer's home
Detective: Was there any animosity? In other words, was there any bad blood between, any problems between Ramsey and Bradley?
Ava: Yes. There was a really big argument between them.
Detective: Did Ramsey ever make any advances towards you?
Ava: Yes. He went in to try to kiss me and I was like, ‘Stop,’ and he was like, ‘Why? It’s just a kiss.’
Ava told investigators she replied, "I don’t want to kiss you, you’re my brother’s friend.'
Ava: Ramsey tried to, like, hook up with me and I was just, like, saying ‘no.’
Ava says Bradley confronted Ramsey, but he denied Ava's claims.
"He asked, 'Did you try to do anything with my sister?' He was like, ‘No, that never happened,’" recalled Ava.
Bradley and Ramsey did not hang out for months after that.
Crime scene photo of bedroom where Bradley Hulett was shot
Later, TT tells investigators Perez's son was in a rush to hide evidence before deputies arrived.
"He talks about hiding the vape pens before police get there," explained Rickman.
However, TT insisted the boys were not high at the time of the shooting.
As the trial for Christopher "Ramsey" Bevan draws closer, Brad Hulett says he won't participate.
RELATED: Teen's statements about Bradley Hulett's death contradict other claims
"I don't care what happens. I won't be at the court case. I will not attend. I do not care if he's been found guilty or innocent, makes no difference to me," explained Hulett. "I spent six months in hell. I know what it feels like where you can't put one foot in front of the other, I know what it's like to cry all day, every day. I don't want to go back to that place."
Hulett says months of therapy coupled with support from family and friends have helped him cope with losing his son. Re-living the details of his death during the trial will take an emotional toll, which is why he plans to skip the trial.
Crime scene photo of bedroom where Bradley Hulett died
However, Bradley's mother and the rest of the family will be there, listening to every heartbreaking detail.
A trial date has been set for February 2022, the same month Bradley would have turned 18.
Bevan is charged with manslaughter with a weapon, a first-degree felony, which carries a maximum punishment of up to 30 years in prison.