‘Russian Roulette’ Sex Game Turns Deadly: Woman Charged
August 19, 2026
AI Summary
5 min readA 19-year-old woman is facing up to ten years in prison after a deadly game of what she described as Russian roulette during a sexual encounter left a 26-year-old National Guardsman dead. Ember McSpadin told police that she and Shane Brooks had been using knives and guns as sexual foreplay, and that on the night of March 5th, Brooks handed her a revolver with a single bullet loaded. She said she spun the cylinder, checked it, and pulled the trigger three times. On the third pull, a bullet discharged under Brooks’s chin, killing him instantly. The case, covered by Law & Crime host Chris Stewart with defense attorney Matthew Mangino, raises unusual legal questions about consent, extreme risk-taking, and criminal responsibility when both parties knowingly engaged in a deadly game.
A Shocking 911 Call and a Single Gunshot
The episode begins with the 911 call McSpadin made at 1:09 a.m. from Brooks’s home in Virginia Beach. She told the operator that Brooks had been shot while they were “playing a game.” When police arrived, they found Brooks dead from a gunshot wound to the neck—later determined by autopsy to be a single bullet entering just under his chin. McSpadin was taken into custody and charged with involuntary manslaughter.
Continue reading the full summary in the app — free to try.
Read Full Summary →Free • No credit card required
Never miss an episode of Law And Crime On The Case with Chris Stewart
Get every new episode summarized in your inbox — free, ~5 minutes to read.
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
What you'll learn
- 1 (00:00) **Deadly Foreplay: A Shocking 911 Call** - Chris Stewart introduces the case of a 19-year-old woman charged after her partner is fatally shot during a "game" of Russian roulette used as sexual foreplay.
- 2 (02:41) **The 911 Call and Initial Investigation** - The timeline begins with the 911 call and police response to the victim's home in Virginia Beach.
- 3 (03:36) **The Autopsy and the Defendant's Story** - The forensic details emerge, revealing the fatal wound's location and McSpadin's alleged explanation to police.
- 4 (04:49) **The Russian Roulette Foreplay Ritual** - The specific details of the deadly game are revealed through the investigator's testimony.
- 5 (05:40) **Legal Status and Victim's Background** - The current legal proceedings are outlined, and the episode honors the victim's life and service.
- 6 (08:37) **Expert Analysis: The Prosecution's Strategy** - Defense attorney and former prosecutor Matt Mangino joins to discuss the legal reasoning behind the involuntary manslaughter charge.
- 7 (11:42) **Could This Be Second-Degree Murder?** - Stewart and Mangino debate whether a more serious charge could have been brought, given the multiple trigger pulls.
+ Full timestamped outline available in the app
Guests on this episode
Show Notes
A Virginia Beach woman faces an involuntary manslaughter charge in the death of 26-year-old Shane Brooks — after prosecutors say 19-year-old Ember McSpadden fired a fatal shot into Brooks’ neck during a round of “Russian-Roulette-style” sexual foreplay. Now, a grand jury will have to decide if there’s enough evidence to bring the charge to trial. Law&Crime’s Chris Stewart is On the Case.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
More from this podcast
Law And Crime On The Case with Chris Stewart →