‘Broken:’ family speaks out after Everman man killed in domestic incident
Seth Antonio Tatum died a hero, his brother James said of him three days after Seth was shot dead in front of his Everman home.
Twenty-two-year-old Elijah Mitchell, Tatum’s sister’s ex-boyfriend, had shown up in a rage at the house around 6 a.m. on Wednesday, April 22. The day prior, James and Seth Tatum helped their sister move out of the couple’s apartment after they ended their three-year relationship.
Mitchell stood in the street outside the Tatums’ home in the 500 block of Georgetown Drive, shouting things at his ex-partner. When the woman turned toward the house to call police, Seth Tatum walked toward Mitchell, attempting to de-escalate the situation, James Tatum said.
“He’s like, ‘hey, bro. Calm down, it’s 6 in the morning ... we’re trying to go to work,” James Tatum said.
Mitchell then produced a handgun and unloaded the magazine into Seth Tatum.
“I know he came to kill somebody because the safety wasn’t even on,” James said. “He didn’t even have to cock the gun back, it literally just shot right away.”
When he was struck, Tatum, who James described as a “big, tough guy,” didn’t even move.
“He literally stood there and ate the shots,” James said.
Seth’s girlfriend is pregnant, and the couple’s baby girl is due May 6, James said. Last week, the family held a baby shower, and they’re now trying to sort out funeral arrangements for the child’s father.
Tatum would’ve been “the best dad in the world” because of how James saw him acting with his two nieces: He picked the girls up from school early to go get ice cream and regularly took them to get their hair braided.
Someday, when Tatum’s daughter is old enough, James will tell her that her father is a hero, he said.
As for Mitchell, James Tatum said, the burst of violence caught the family somewhat by surprise. At the start of Mitchell’s relationship with Tatum’s sister, the family helped him become established as a Texas resident and get set up with a job. Seth and Mitchell were close, and would go to car shows and job interviews together.
On the Sunday prior to the killing, Mitchell was at the Tatums’ home, playing card games with their grandmother. At one point during his interview with the Star-Telegram, James Tatum referred to Mitchell as a brother-in-law.
“There’s pictures where Seth is standing next to his killer,” James Tatum said. “And nobody knew. We are broken.”
