A man who fatally shot his friend’s wife while playing with a gun was sentenced to 10 to 14½ years in prison.
Omarion Horne pleaded guilty July 31 to involuntary manslaughter in the fatal shooting last year of 23-year-old Rachel Counts in Winton Hills. Hamilton County Common Pleas Judge Chris Wagner imposed a sentence that had been agreed upon as part of the plea.
On the night of Oct. 5, 2025, Counts and her husband – they had been married for a week and lived in Indiana – were at a Winton Hills home with Horne.
According to prosecutors, Horne, 23, removed all the cartridges from a revolver, then put one back in, saying he wanted to play “Russian roulette.”
He pointed the gun at Counts and pulled the trigger. The gun fired, striking Counts in the chest.
Horne’s attorney, James Moore, told Wagner that what happened could only be described as a senseless tragedy.
After the shooting, Horne carried Counts outside of the home, and in a 911 call could be hearing begging his friend, Counts’ new husband, “to take his life,” Moore said.
In court, Horne said he loved Counts “like a sister” and apologized to her family who were seated in the courtroom.
Parents forgive defendant
Both of Counts’ parents read statements in court and said they have forgiven Horne – something her mother said is “not a natural response, nor does it come easily.”
“We forgive because Jesus forgives,” she said.
Rebecca Counts said her daughter got married without telling anyone, but they were planning to have a separate ceremony for family and friends.
The day of the shooting, Rebecca sent her daughter photos of flowers she had put together for the wedding. Those flowers, she said, “became her funeral flowers.”
Some were tucked into her hand, her mother said.
Rachel Counts worked a drive-through window at the Avon, Indiana McDonald’s, and more than a dozen customers reached out to her family, her mother said, because they had come to know her and enjoyed seeing her.
“Sometimes you never know how much people love you until you’re no longer on this earth,” she said.
Devastating, irreversible consequences
In a statement, Hamilton County Prosecutor Connie Pillich said the case is a “a heartbreaking reminder that firearms are never toys and should never be handled recklessly."
“What began as a gathering among friends ended with a young woman losing her life because someone treated a loaded gun like a game," Pillich said. "There is no safe way to play with a firearm. We hope this conviction serves as a warning that reckless decisions with guns have devastating, irreversible consequences.”
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Parents of woman killed by man playing 'Russian roulette' forgive him
