Inset left: Amunique Cavitt (Sedgwick County Jail). Inset right: Norman Carter III (Obituary). Background: The residential street where Cavitt shot and killed Carter in Wichita, Kan. (Google Maps).
A Kansas woman has been sentenced to over a decade in prison for the tragic shooting of her boyfriend, an incident that unfolded on his birthday. A jury convicted 21-year-old Amunique Schare Cavitt of second-degree murder in the December 2025 trial, following the death of Norman Eugene “Tray” Carter III, aged 33.
The sentencing, which took place on a recent Friday, concluded with Cavitt receiving a prison term of 13 years and nine months. This decision was announced by the Sedgwick County District Attorney’s Office.
The unfortunate events occurred on April 23, 2024, outside a home located on North Minnesota Avenue in Wichita. Law enforcement was summoned to the scene around 12:15 p.m. after receiving alerts of a shooting. Upon arrival, they found Carter with several gunshot wounds to his upper body, as reported by Wichita’s ABC affiliate KAKE. Despite being rushed to a nearby hospital, Carter ultimately died from his injuries.
Details revealed during the investigation, including a probable cause affidavit accessed by Wichita’s NBC and Telemundo affiliate KSN-TV, indicated that Cavitt and Carter had been engaged in an argument earlier that morning while driving together. This confrontation eventually culminated in the fatal shooting, marking a grim end to a day that had begun with the promise of celebration.
On the day in question, law enforcement arrived around 12:15 p.m. in response to reports of a shooting and found Carter suffering from multiple gunshot wounds to his upper body, according to Wichita-based ABC affiliate KAKE. The victim was rushed to a nearby hospital where he eventually succumbed to his injuries.
Earlier that morning, Cavitt and Carter were driving together when they began arguing, according to a probable cause affidavit obtained by Wichita-based NBC and Telemundo affiliate KSN-TV.
The woman, for her part, said her boyfriend slapped her, hit her several times on the head and tried to strangle her. Police noted the presence of some scratches on Cavitt’s neck, but no other visible injuries, according to the affidavit.
At the intersection of Minnesota Avenue and 13th Street, Carter got out of the Jeep. One witness said it appeared Cavitt tried to run him over after he left the SUV. Then, the woman also got out of the Jeep and unleashed a torrent of gunfire at the man.
The shooting continued even after Carter was on the ground, according to the charging document obtained by The Wichita Eagle. Police would find seven shell casings in the grass near the man’s body.
Carter’s obituary remembers him fondly:
Tray was very talented, creative, passionate, and smart. He achieved everything he set his mind to and motivated others to do the same…Most of all, he was a loving father to his daughter Nakori. Tray loved his daughter more than anything. She was the light in his eyes and the joy in his heart. There are no words that can describe just how much Tray loved his daughter. She was his most precious gift in this world and he will forever be her Angel.
The defendant was arrested later that same afternoon and charged with one count of first-degree murder. She was detained in the Sedgwick County Jail on $1 million bond where she remained through the entirety of her trial.
The jury was given the option of convicting Cavitt on the more serious murder charge, but opted for second-degree murder instead.
