Kayla Winkles’ children were inside the family home when authorities say their mother was fatally shot in the driveway.
WHITE BLUFF, Tenn. — The five children of Kayla Winkles were inside their Dickson County home Friday morning when authorities say their 35-year-old mother was shot in the driveway, leaving a family grieving as her brother faces a first-degree murder charge.
The fatal shooting has shifted attention from the initial law enforcement response on Joslin Branch Road to the family left behind. Investigators said the children did not appear to have witnessed the shooting, but they were in the home during the disturbance. Sheriff’s officials said resources would be offered to them and other relatives as the investigation continues.
Deputies were called to the home at about 7:30 a.m. Nov. 6 after a neighbor heard a gunshot and contacted emergency dispatchers, according to the Dickson County Sheriff’s Office. Officers found Winkles wounded in the driveway. Medics began emergency treatment and transported her to a hospital, where authorities later confirmed that she had died.
Winkles had moved with her five children into her grandmother’s home a few months before the shooting, according to an uncle who spoke with local reporters. Her younger brother also lived at the residence. The uncle said the death came as a shock to relatives because he had believed the siblings generally got along.
Sheriff’s investigators said Winkles and her brother, 31-year-old Joseph Cook, had been arguing before the shooting. Authorities have not publicly disclosed what the argument concerned, and detectives have continued working to establish the events that led to the gunfire.
Cook was taken into custody at the property without incident, authorities said. He has since been charged with first-degree murder and is being held on $2 million bond. The charge is an accusation, and he has not been convicted.
Capt. Jennifer Caruthers of the Dickson County Sheriff’s Office said investigators did not believe the children saw the shooting itself, although they were exposed to the commotion surrounding it. The sheriff’s office said family members would be offered support, while child services was expected to become involved in determining arrangements for the children.
The killing also disrupted the rural White Bluff area for much of Friday. Emergency management officials announced that a stretch of Joslin Branch Road would be closed while deputies processed the property and continued their investigation. Authorities later said the shooting appeared to be an isolated domestic incident and that there was no active threat to nearby residents.
Friends and relatives have since remembered Winkles for her role as a mother, friend and partner. Publicly available reporting has not established what caused the dispute between the siblings, and investigators have not announced a motive. Those unanswered questions remain part of the sheriff’s office investigation.
Cook remained in custody as of Sunday while the case continued. Authorities have said additional information will be released as the investigation develops, while Winkles’ family faces the immediate task of caring for the five children she leaves behind.
Author note: Last updated November 8, 2026.