Shaquille Taylor must serve all 35 years of his murder sentence after a stray bullet killed Jillian Ludwig.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — A Nashville man was sentenced to 38 years in prison Monday after pleading guilty in the shooting death of Jillian Ludwig, an 18-year-old Belmont University freshman struck by a stray bullet while walking in a park in 2023.

The sentence closed the criminal case against Shaquille Taylor, 32, but it did not end the broader fight over how Tennessee handles violent defendants found incompetent to stand trial. Davidson County Criminal Judge Steve R. Dozier imposed the sentence after Taylor pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. Prosecutors said Taylor must serve the full 35-year murder term. A three-year assault sentence brings the total punishment to 38 years.

Taylor had been scheduled to go to trial Monday before the plea changed the course of the case. In court, prosecutors Jan Norman and Deputy District Attorney Roger Moore told the judge that Taylor was part of a gang and had fired toward another group inside a moving car near Edgehill Community Memorial Gardens Park on Nov. 7, 2023. One bullet missed its target and struck Ludwig in the head as she walked near the Belmont campus. Taylor, through a statement read on his behalf, said he was sorry. “I wish I could take that bullet back,” the statement said. He also said he had not been aiming at Ludwig.

Ludwig was from New Jersey and had been in Nashville only a few months when she was shot. She was a freshman music business student at Belmont, a school known for drawing young musicians and music industry students to the city. After the shooting, she was taken to Vanderbilt University Medical Center, where she died the next day. Court and police accounts have said she was not found for more than an hour after being shot. That delay became one of the most painful facts for her parents, Matthew and Jessica Ludwig, who described her final day and the ordinary items that still mark her absence at home.

The hearing gave Ludwig’s parents their first chance to address Taylor at sentencing after more than two years of court proceedings, public debate and legislative action. Matthew Ludwig told the court there was no worse pain than a father losing his only daughter to murder. Jessica Ludwig said her daughter lost “her whole bright, beautiful and promising future” at age 18. Both parents said the sentence did not equal justice. Matthew Ludwig said Taylor needed to be in jail forever, then added that 38 years would have to do. Jessica Ludwig said, “I love you, Jillian,” as she spoke about the life her daughter did not get to live.

The case drew attention long before sentencing because Taylor had been released months before Ludwig’s death after being found incompetent to stand trial in an earlier aggravated assault case. At the time, he also did not meet the legal standard for involuntary commitment to a mental health facility. That combination meant prosecutors could not move forward with the earlier case, and Taylor was not held in treatment. Davidson County District Attorney Glenn Funk later said the case showed a dangerous gap in the justice and mental health systems. His office said Taylor was free just days after officials had warned that the gap could lead to tragedy.

Ludwig’s death changed state law. In 2024, Tennessee lawmakers passed Jillian’s Law, which requires certain defendants found incompetent to stand trial to be committed for treatment rather than released without confinement. The law also restricts gun access for people who fall under those court findings. The measure passed after emotional debate at the Capitol and after Ludwig’s parents joined prosecutors and lawmakers in pushing for change. Legislative records show the law took effect July 1, 2024. Supporters described it as a public safety fix. Some disability rights advocates warned that it could sweep too broadly and place a heavy burden on people with intellectual disabilities or mental illness.

The criminal sentence does not resolve all legal action tied to Ludwig’s death. Her parents have filed a $50 million wrongful death lawsuit against Belmont University, Metro Nashville government, the state of Tennessee and others. The suit claims that a chain of failures made the killing possible, including Taylor’s release, safety conditions near the park and the response after the shooting. The defendants have not been found liable in that civil case. The lawsuit says Ludwig did not know the park carried safety concerns and alleges that officials failed to get help to her quickly after shots were fired in broad daylight.

Outside the strict terms of the sentence, the case has become a story about a young woman’s place in two communities. In Nashville, Ludwig was a new Belmont student who had come to study music. In New Jersey, she was a daughter, friend and hometown student whose death drew shock far beyond Tennessee. Her family has created the Rae of Light Foundation, which honors her name through work tied to violence prevention and scholarships for young musicians. Jessica Ludwig told the court that music was her daughter’s passion and that she pursued it with rare focus and natural ability.

Taylor now faces decades in state custody, with the 35-year murder sentence set to be served at 100%. Ludwig’s family said their work will continue through the civil case, the foundation and efforts to push similar laws beyond Tennessee.

Author note: Last updated May 24, 2026.