No Murder Charges for Proof Shooter

Murder charges will not be given to a man allegedly responsible for the recent death of D12 rapper Proof, a prosecutor ruled Tuesday (May 30). According to Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy, Mario Etheridge shot and killed Proof in an act of self-defense. In May, authorities charged the 28-year-old with carrying a concealed weapon without a permit as well as firing two shots in the air inside a building. Although Etheridge was not charged in the killing, he is scheduled to appear in court Friday (June 2) for a final meeting on the other two charges. Etheridge's avoidance of the murder charge is the newest development in the aftermath following the death of Proof and Etheridges' cousin, Keith Bender, 35. The rapper and Bender died around 4:30 a.m. April 11 following a heated argument the two had at the C.C.C. Club on 8 Mile Road. In a timeline of the events released Tuesday, prosecutors revealed that Etheridge and another man intervened in the argument. The timeline further stated that Bender threw the first punch after Proof asked Bender to take the argument outside, according to the Detroit Free Press, and that the rapper got a gun from another man soon after going outside. Bender's family filed a wrongful death lawsuit in May against Proof's estate, claiming the Detroit lyricist "violently assaulted and battered [Bender], culminating with the infection of a gunshot injury that caused the death of Mr. Bender."