Top left: Christian Ketchup (Escambia County Sheriff”s Office). Top right: Tierra Binion (Obituary). Background: The location where Ketchup fatally shot Binion in Pensacola, Florida. (Google Maps).
A Florida man faces substantial prison time for killing a woman in the parking lot of a sports bar by shooting her 10 times in the back.
On Thursday, Christian Ketchup, 27, was convicted by a jury in Escambia County on one count of murder in the second degree.
According to a prior report by Law&Crime, the tragic event resulted in the death of Tierra Binion, age 25, who was a mother to twins. There’s no question about the defendant’s responsibility for the shooting, although he alleged it was a case of self-defense during a conflict that occurred that evening.
“The defense argued that this defendant was essentially pleading, ‘Let’s stop this, no more fighting’ — portraying him as a peacekeeper,” related Chief Assistant State Attorney Bridgette Jensen to the jury, as stated in a courtroom article by the Pensacola News Journal. “However, ladies and gentlemen, even if that was his initial stance, he ultimately became a murderer.”
On August 23, 2023, an altercation erupted inside the establishment Mugs & Jugs located on Scenic Highway in Pensacola. The confrontation subsequently moved into the parking area of the sports bar and package store, which offers on-site drinking and a drive-thru for takeaway alcohol purchases.
Initially, the fight was between Binion and Ketchup’s girlfriend, Rachel DeRise, 25. Then, at some point, the man intervened.
The Escambia County Sheriff’s Office characterized DeRise and Binion as “mutually combatant.” Eventually, Ketchup charged at Binion, striking her and causing her to fall.
Seizing the moment, DeRise continued to assault the victim with multiple punches while she lay on the ground, unconscious. In September 2024, DeRise admitted guilt to a single misdemeanor battery charge for the assault. The sentence included 60 days in county jail, followed by a year of probation.
The man, however, went a different route.
Ketchup took out his weapon and fired. And fired, and fired, and fired.
Investigators found at least 20 shell casings near Binion’s body and another five casings in another area of the parking lot, according to court documents obtained by Pensacola-based ABC affiliate WEAR.
Ketchup then called 911 and identified himself as the shooter.
“I f–ed up,” the since-convicted man told the deputies who arrived at the bar. “I’m not a f–ing killer. I don’t do that. That’s not me.”
Investigators seized a Springfield Armory handgun from the immediate area; meanwhile, a witness discovered a SIG Sauer P365 semi-automatic pistol in the parking lot and gave it to a bartender.
The defense, for its part, argued Ketchup believed Binion herself was armed that night because she had earlier used the phrase “my gun” – and because the bar’s clientele generally packed heat.
The state rubbished that logic.
“It was not reasonable that night for Christian Ketchup to show up at the bar with a gun,” Deputy Chief Assistant State Attorney Trey Myers told jurors during closing arguments. “It was not reasonable for Christian Ketchup to consume alcohol while in possession of a gun. It was not reasonable for him to insert himself into a fight that did not concern him. It was not reasonable for him to lose his cool when his drunken girlfriend got knocked down being too close to a fight. It was not reasonable for him to punch a 5-foot, 5-inch female in the face twice, all because of a cat fight.”
The state’s oratorical coup de grace referenced the literal death blows: The prosecutor went on to say it was not reasonable for Ketchup to “shoot an unarmed lady in the back 10 times.”
In the end, the jury agreed with the state.
Ketchup’s sentencing hearing is slated for Nov. 19. He faces the possibility of up to life in prison.
