Previous coverage 
 
 NORMAN — A former high school cheerleader who was fatally shot in the face last year couldn't have inflicted the injury herself, a Norman police detective testified Monday. 
 
 The victim's father, Ronald Lee McMullen Jr., 43, of Norman, is charged with first-degree murder in the June 29 shooting death of Kailee McMullen, 22. The victim graduated from Norman North High School in 2013 and was co-captain of the school's varsity cheerleading squad. 
 
 Ronald McMullen contends he witnessed his daughter accidentally shoot herself while “playing with a wheel-gun” inside the family home that morning, police reported. Detective Brian Franks testified Monday during a preliminary hearing in McMullen's case, telling a judge the gunpowder residue evidence shows otherwise. 
 
 Franks told the Cleveland County judge that McMullen said his daughter had a revolver pointed at her face, her thumb on the trigger and arm extended away from her body, the detective testified. McMullen said the gun “went pop” when he tried to take the gun from her, the detective said. 
 
 The victim had a single entry wound to the side of her nose and “stippling” marks on her face from gunpowder residue associated with the blast. The detective said he tested the firearm used in the shooting and compared stippling patterns from various distances up to two feet away. 
 
 Based on the stippling pattern present on the victim's face, it was determined the gun likely was fired from 18 inches away, the detective testified. The victim's reach while holding the firearm could have only been between 11.5 and 14 inches, the detective said. 
 
 “It tells me it was fired outside of her reach,” the detective told the judge. 
 
 At the conclusion of the preliminary hearing, Special Judge Steve Stice found enough evidence to send McMullen's case to trial. 
 
 Prosecutors allege the shooting occurred about 5:15 a.m. A neighbor testified about hearing a loud noise about that time. McMullen and the victim were the only people inside the house, according to police. The victim's mother, a nurse, was working a night shift at the time. 
 
 Before calling police, McMullen called his wife about 5:38 a.m. His wife testified he told her, "Kailee's been shot." The mother then left work and McMullen called police, who responded a few minutes later. 
 
 When police arrived at the house, the mother was performing CPR on the victim in the living room, according to testimony. 
 
 Ronald McMullen was covered in blood and officers began photographing him, according to testimony. McMullen then attempted to wipe away the blood by rolling around on the ground and rubbing dirt on his hands and face, according to testimony. 
 
 During a search of the home, there was a large amount of blood all over the kitchen, as well as in the living room, the detective testified. It also appeared that someone had attempted to clean up the blood with a towel, the detective said. 
 
 When asked about trying to clean the scene, McMullen said, "I don't know why I did that," according to police. He also moved his daughter's body from the kitchen to the living room after the shooting, police reported. 
 
 Police also have reported that McMullen was a "very controlling father." McMullen's wife testified that he would track their daughter's phone. 
 
 The defendant had been accused of sexually abusing his daughter in 2009, according to police. He was never charged. 
 
 “Through interviews with the victim's friends, the victim had expressed to them that McMullen was again sexually abusing her within the last couple of months,” the detective wrote in a court affidavit. 
 
 Related to this story Show more 1 ||||| Sorry, this zipcode is not in our deliverable area for this subscription service. 
 
 Re-enter zip code or sign up for digital access. 
 
 Get digital access
– An Oklahoma father who claimed his daughter fatally shot herself in the face while playing with a gun is going to stand trial for her murder. At a hearing Monday, a police detective in Norman testified that father Ronald Lee McMullen Jr.'s version of events is physically impossible, the Tulsa World reports. McMullen, 43, called 911 at 5:42am on June 29 last year and said daughter Kailee Jo McMullen, 22, had been "playing with a wheel-gun" that went off when he tried to take it from her. Detective Brian Franks, however, testified that the "stippling" of gunpowder residue on Kailee's face indicated that the revolver was fired from around 18 inches away—and her reach while holding the gun could have been no more than 14 inches. "It tells me it was fired outside of her reach," he said. Kailee, a former high school cheerleader, worked as an EMT. Her father was arrested and charged with first-degree murder a few days after her death. The Oklahoman reports that according to an affidavit for a search warrant, officers responding to the 911 call found large amounts of blood and evidence that somebody had tried to clean it up. Officers said that after they took photos of McMullen, he got on the ground and began covering himself with dirt. Police, who describe McMullen as a "very controlling father," say he was accused of sexually abusing Kailee in 2009 but wasn't charged. According to the affidavit, she told friends in the months before her death that her father had started abusing her again. At Monday's hearing, the judge decided there was enough evidence to send him to trial.