On September 24, YR-2, Vanessa Sullivan, daughter of Nita's most prominent prosecutor, celebrated her twenty-first birthday with two friends, Taylor Hopson and Danny Dawson, at Chuggie's Sports Bar. After several hours of celebration at the bar, the three left in a car driven by Dawson. On the way home Dawson lost control of the car, resulting in a crash in which Sullivan was killed.

A special prosecutor was appointed because of the conflict of interest in having the victim's parent's office prosecute the case. A grand jury has returned a multi-count indictment charging the defendant, Danny Dawson, with murder and driving under the influence.

There are four witnesses for the prosecution, four for the defense, and three that can be called by either party. Witnesses include an accident reconstruction expert and a medical expert. The exhibits include an audio recording of the voicemail left by Vanessa Sullivan immediately before the crash.