The quiet of a Saturday evening in Powell, Tennessee, was shattered by a tragedy that left a community grappling with shock and sorrow. On May 3, 2025, 20-year-old Dsani Badgett, a young woman from Knox County, allegedly took the life of her boyfriend, Stephen Morgan, in a moment of rage fueled by betrayal. The incident, rooted in a discovery of infidelity, unfolded in their shared home on Weaver Hollow Way, leaving a family devastated and a neighborhood in disbelief.
According to authorities, the events leading to Morgan’s death began with a seemingly innocuous detail: a broken phone. Morgan had been using Badgett’s phone to access his Yahoo account, unaware that his private messages would soon unravel their relationship. Badgett, upon discovering exchanges that suggested Morgan was cheating, was consumed by anger. Court documents paint a chilling picture of her response—she retrieved a firearm from their bedroom nightstand, sat on the living room couch, and waited for an hour as the weight of her discovery festered. When Morgan returned home from work, the confrontation was immediate and volatile. As the argument escalated, Morgan reportedly attempted to wrest the gun from her grasp. In that heated moment, Badgett fired, striking him in the hand and chest. The wounds proved fatal, and paramedics pronounced Morgan dead at the scene.
Deputies arrived around 5:40 p.m. to a harrowing sight: Badgett, standing in the driveway, screaming for help. Inside, Morgan lay unresponsive on the living room floor, his life extinguished in an instant. The Knox County Sheriff’s Office swiftly took Badgett into custody, charging her with first-degree murder. She was booked into the Roger D. Wilson Detention Facility early the following morning, held on a $300,000 bond. The stark contrast between the serene suburban setting and the violence that erupted within the home left neighbors reeling, struggling to reconcile the young couple’s outwardly normal life with the tragedy that unfolded.
Investigators have since pieced together a narrative of jealousy and impulsivity. The messages Badgett found on her phone, though not detailed publicly, were enough to ignite a fatal chain of events. Authorities have not released information about the nature of Morgan’s alleged infidelity or the extent of the couple’s prior conflicts, but the swift escalation from discovery to violence underscores the devastating consequences of unchecked emotions. The sheriff’s office has indicated that the investigation remains ongoing, with forensic analysis and witness interviews still in progress to ensure a comprehensive understanding of the incident.
The loss of Stephen Morgan has sent ripples through the Powell community, where he was known as a hardworking individual. Friends and family have begun sharing tributes, though many have requested privacy as they mourn. Badgett, meanwhile, faces a legal battle that could define her future. Her initial court appearance has set the stage for a case that will likely explore not only the events of that fateful evening but also the dynamics of a relationship that ended in such catastrophic fashion. As the judicial process unfolds, questions linger about what might have been done to prevent this tragedy and how a moment of betrayal could lead to such irreversible loss.
This incident serves as a sobering reminder of the fragility of human relationships and the profound impact of choices made in the heat of the moment. For now, a community mourns, a family grieves, and a young woman awaits her day in court, forever marked by a decision that changed lives in an instant.