Here are all homicide investigations reported by Fayetteville-area law enforcement in 2023
The Fayetteville area saw its highest homicide rates in recent history in 2023.
The victims ranged in age from at least two unborn children to an 82-year-old woman and the cases were reported to the Fayetteville Police Department, Cumberland County Sheriff's Office and Spring Lake Police Department. The Hope Mills Police Department did not report any homicides for the year.
In total, from Jan. 2, 2023, to Dec. 22, 2023, the area saw 70 homicide investigations with 78 lives lost to violence. Twenty-nine of those 2023 investigations are still open.
The numbers break down as follows:
50 homicide investigations for the Fayetteville Police Department. In 2022 there were 43.
21 homicide investigations for the Cumberland County Sheriff's Office. In 2022 there were 18.
Two homicide investigations for the Spring Lake Police Department. In 2022 there were no homicides.
January
The year started off in January with the deaths of three children under the age of 2. Fentanyl exposure was the cause of death for two of the children and blunt force trauma was the cause of death for the third.
8 killed
Rhonda Ashford, 50, was killed Jan. 2 in a car wreck. Christopher Fields was arrested on allegations he was high on psychedelic drugs at the time of the wreck and is charged with the death.
Jameson Lee Hurt, 9 months old, died Jan. 4, 2023, of fentanyl exposure. His mother, Sarah Faulkner, is charged with the death.
20-month-old Aniel Le'Sean Tilus died Jan. 5 of blunt force trauma to his head and torso. Relative Deborah Nichelle Vanburen is charged with the death.
Julian Wright, 20, was shot and killed on Nutmeg Place on Jan. 8. Brayan Millan-Bonilla, 19, is charged with the killing.
Stephon Darius Links, 18, was shot and killed on Docia Circle on Jan. 15. No arrests have been made in the case.
Infant Ke'Yana Swinson was exposed to fentanyl on Blue Street and died Jan. 22. Her mother, Tiana Johnson, is charged with the death.
David Roland Deberry, 63, was the victim of a Dec. 8 shooting on Winchester Drive and died Jan. 27. Gregory Yulanta Davis is charged with the death.
Charles Michael Conley, 26, was killed Jan. 30 on South Fourth Street in Spring Lake. No arrests have been made in the killing.
February
While February only saw two homicide investigations in 2023, in one of those, three people, including a 5-month-old girl, were shot and killed Feb. 7 at a home on Bunce Road. No one has been charged in the killings.
In all of 2023, Fayetteville-area law enforcement agencies conducted eight homicide investigations in which more than one person was killed.
4 killed
Ashlee Chambers, 35, was found dead on Feb. 3 in woods in Wade. Chambers was last seen alive Jan. 19 in Fayetteville. No arrest has been made in her killing.
On Feb. 7, Johnathan Alexander McMillian, 31; Terrance Jai’Quahn Melvin, 26, and Melvin's 7-month-old daughter Ny’Lynn Melvin were killed in a home on Bunce Road. No one has been charged with the killing.
March
In Fayetteville and Cumberland County in March, five people died as a result of violence including a 21-month-old child.
5 killed
Raymund Alexander Graham, 39, was shot and killed during an altercation on Medicus Lane on March 6. More than half a dozen shots were captured in a 911 call in the minutes before the shooting turned deadly.
On March 19, 21-month-old Mason Coonradt died of blunt force trauma. His mother's boyfriend, Josef Nehemiah King is charged with the death.
On March 21, Shahid Roszik Page, 20, was shot 26 times inside a home on Enoch Avenue, causing his death. No arrest has been made in the killing.
Bryant Kirby Preston, 36, was doused with hot grease during a dispute with a relative at his home March 24. He succumbed to injuries Apr. 18.
Clarence Junior Smith, 40, was shot three times in the 200 block of Gertrude Street on March 26 and died. No arrest has been made in his death.
April
April saw its first of five murder-suicides of the year. Officials said a Fayetteville police officer shot his wife before turning the gun on himself. Their bodies were found in their Vandenburg Drive home on April 28.
6 killed
Anthony Bradshaw, 30, was shot five times April 2 in a hookah lounge on Yadkin Road and died from his injuries. Rolondo Boone is charged with the death.
Timothy James Shannon, 33, was shot and killed on King Charles Road on April 16. Glenn Richard Tedder II is charged with the killing.
Victoria Faith Jefferson, 18, was killed during a shooting that injured one other person in Gilcrest Sands Drive April 17. Jocephus Jones III and Jayquan Blandshaw are charged in the death.
Robert Lawrence Nowell V, 36, was shot along with three other men April 18 in a home on Alpin Street. Nowell died and Donald McLucas Jr. and April McLucas are charged with his death.
Yenitza Arroyo-Tavarez, 44, and Fayetteville Police Department officer Domingo Tavarez-Rodriguez, 53 were found dead with gunshot wounds inside their home on Vandenburg Drive on April 28. Officials said the off-duty officer killed his wife before killing himself.
May
The most homicide investigations in a single month in the Fayetteville area came in May. Local law enforcement reported 11 homicide investigations with 12 people killed during the month.
The area's second murder-suicide was also recorded this month.
12 killed
Terence Malcolm Malik Hogue, 30, was shot and killed on Kienast Drive on May 2. Jermaine Tyrone Cartrette is charged with the death.
On May 6, a pregnant woman was shot as she rode in a vehicle on Interstate 95 near exit 40, killing the fetus. James Junior Mcbryde is charged in the death.
Staff Sgt. Ethan P. Vezina, 25, fell unresponsive in his apartment on Tryon Drive and died May 6. Calls to 911 indicate he died after wrestling with a friend. No arrest has been made in the case.
Ni'Reash Rayshaun Timmons, 27, was shot and killed on Palomino Drive on May 7. Elmer Leon Spears is charged with the shooting death.
Shaniqua Nechelle Colvin, 31, was shot and killed on Trumilla Drive on May 14. Tiffany Elvoiress Bordeaux Hines is charged with the death.
Dakota Lee Johnson, 17, was shot and killed in the 2300 block of Indian Creek Drive. No arrest has been made in the killing.
Joseph Walton, 37, was shot and killed on Schmidt Street on May 22. Jeavon McCoy and Laurence Williams are charged in the killing.
Tatiana Ninette Haywood, 18, was shot and killed by her boyfriend Nasir Leshon Scott, 18, on May 24 at her Carlos Avenue home. Afterward, Scott shot himself and was pronounced dead at the hospital.
Ayanna Thompson, 19, was shot and killed on Fort Bragg Road outside B&B Bowling on May 26. Levon Junior Campbell is charged with the death.
Carlos Lesean Brown, 45, was shot and killed on Lynn Avenue on May 29. Joshua Tashun Joyce is charged with the death.
Aljarez Elliott, 18, and Alzy Diamond, 24, were shot and killed at their cousin's home in the area of Rembrandt Drive on May 31. Tyrone Washington and Treshaun Geddie are charged with the shooting deaths.
June
The first stabbing death recorded by local law enforcement came in June. It was the only stabbing death of the year.
In that case, officials said, two brothers got into an altercation that ended in a stabbing. The surviving brother, Derelle Viera, is charged with voluntary manslaughter in the killing.
7 killed
Xavier Copeland, 25, was shot and killed on Louise Circle on June 5. No arrest has been made in the shooting death.
Gerald Unique Viera, 32, died of a stabbing after being dropped off outside the VA Medical Center in Fayetteville on June 15. Derelle Allen Viera is charged with his death.
Jeremy Mercer, 44, was found dead of an assault in an Owen Drive hotel in Fayetteville on June 15. No arrest has been made in his death.
Sandra Robinson, 58, was shot and killed by her husband Lewis Robinson, 50, on Torbay Drive on June 18. Lewis Robinson then killed himself.
James Jackson, 74, was found dead in his home on Haywood Street on June 22.
Aaron Ralston, 36, was found dead after being reported missing June 29. Jeffery Lennon Walters is charged with the death.
July
July saw the death of an 11-year-old girl who was reportedly shot by her babysitter's young son. The family of Jenesis Dockery has called for officials to be transparent in the charging of the child and has questioned why no adults have been charged in a case where the child got a hold of a gun.
8 killed
Jason Lamar Smith Jr., 20, was shot and killed and two others were hospitalized on Hilton Drive on July 5. No arrests have been made in his death.
Barbara Mitchell Adair, 59, was shot and killed on Mammoth Drive on July 22. Darren Powell and Hakeem Sincere Jessel Wilson are both charged with her death.
Danielle Golcher, 19, was shot and killed outside of a Valero on Bragg Boulevard on July 17. Two juveniles are charged with her death.
Alvie Chavis Jr., 52, was found dead on July 17 after he was shot after breaking into a Dallas Street home. Andre Lewis was originally charged with voluntary manslaughter for the killing, but the charge was dismissed.
Nicolas Grady, 40, was killed during a shooting on Pembroke Lane that injured three others on July 22. No arrest has been made in the shooting.
Bryant Thomas King, 34, was shot and killed on Dudley Road on July 22. Hamzah Thompson is charged with his death.
Jenesis Dockery, 11, was shot and killed by a juvenile at her babysitter's home on Mercedes Drive on July 25. According to the Sheriff's Office, warrants charging the juvenile with larceny of a firearm and manslaughter were submitted to the Juvenile Justice Division.
Lorenzo Darnell McLaughlin Jr., 22, was shot and killed on Stanberry Street on July 29. Two brothers, Devonte and Adriane McClain, are each charged with the killing.
August
Four deaths were recorded in August by local law enforcement including one in which a pregnant woman was shot as she walked past a home.
4 killed
Brian and Jennifer Vann, both 48, were found dead with gunshot wounds in the 5600 block of Sambo Jackson Road on Aug. 5, a Sheriff's Office news release said.
Two women, one pregnant, were shot on Powell Street on Aug. 19. After an emergency C-section, the baby succumbed to its injuries. Jermaine Jabbar Florence Jr. is charged with the infant's death.
Ernest Bullock, 24, was shot and killed on Bonanza Drive on Aug. 26. Jordan Bernal and Justin Shumpert are charged with the death.
September
The month of September saw the death of Annie Andaluz, a 49-year-old mother who was shot in her home. Her case remained unsolved at the end of 2023.
8 killed
Darian Dale Barton, 21, was shot and killed on Indian Drive on Sept. 2. No arrests have been made in the killing.
Nia Ferguson, 4, died as a result of complications from diabetes on Sept. 4. Her mother, Shanika Adams, was arrested on allegations she neglected her child's medical needs.
Chief Warrant Officer 3 Jessica Moore, 35, was killed by partner Titos Matos on Sept. 14 in the area's fourth murder-suicide of the year. Moore was killed in her Kentyre Drive home. Matos killed himself a short time later during a traffic stop in Southern Pines.
Sculptor Roslyn Mazzilli, 82, was killed by her partner Gregg Melvin in the Kara Court home they shared. Mazzilli and Melvin's bodies were found Sept. 16 after he called 911.
Angela Gwyn, 42, was shot multiple times and killed in a vehicle on South Sixth Street in Spring Lake. Three teens were with her in the vehicle at the time of the shooting. No arrests have been made in the killing.
Annie Andaluz, 49, was shot and killed in her Cumberland Gap Drive apartment on Sept. 22. No arrest has been made in her death.
Henry Lee Downing Jr., 49, was shot and killed on Ladyslipper Drive on Sept. 26.
October
All of the homicides in October were fatal shootings in the city. At least 38 of the 50 Fayetteville Police Department homicide investigations were shootings.
6 killed
Ricky Pernell McMillian Jr., 39, was shot and killed on B Street on Oct. 3. Ian Mahki Stephens and Tylique Williams are charged in the death.
Crystal Loughran, 40, was found dead with a gunshot wound in a wooded area in Bonnie Doone on Oct. 11. Raeqwon Carlisle is charged with her death.
Emmanuel Lashon Smith, 31, was killed and three others were shot on Slater Avenue on Oct. 21. Ravvon Jimani Sparks is charged with the death.
James Daniel, 35, was shot and killed Oct. 27 on Murchison Road. No arrest has been made in the killing.
Sterling Koren Whitted, 46, was shot and killed on Pamalee Drive on Oct. 28. No arrest has been made in the killing.
Garon Webb, 41, was shot and killed on Rosehill Road on Oct. 28. Kortne Melvin is charged in the killing.
November
Only four homicide investigations were recorded in November. The two other months that had four homicides in 2023 were August, with three investigations and four deaths, and February, with two investigations and four deaths.
4 killed
Christopher William Torok, died from blunt force trauma on River Road on Nov. 11. Kareem Butler is charged with the death.
Demonte McKoy, 40, was shot and killed on Broadmore Drive on Nov. 21. No arrests have been made in the death.
Demarcus Brodie, 49, was shot and killed during a traffic stop by a Fayetteville police officer Nov. 23. Police said that Brodie threatened officers with a knife before he was shot.
Jossiel Rodriguez-Perez, 40, was shot and killed on Nov. 27. Amber Byrne and William Wilson are sought for questioning in his death.
December
Six people were killed in the city and county in the last month of the year, with the last killing of 2023 reported on Dec. 22.
6 killed
Andre Allen Lewis, 44, was shot and killed on Center Street on Dec. 18. No arrest has been made in the killing.
Brooklyn Crumpler, 5 months old, was shot and killed on Nicky Avenue on Dec. 19. Her father was also shot but survived. No arrest has been made in the killing.
Daeja Danette Kyes, 24, was shot and killed on Rosehill Road on Dec. 20. No arrest has been made in her killing.
Duane Quales Jr., 33, was shot and killed on Miranda Drive on Dec. 21. No arrest has been made in his death.
Deshawn Howard, 30, was shot and killed after allegedly attempting to break into a home on Directive Drive on Dec. 21. No one has been charged.
Naeem Syed, 44, was shot and killed in the area of Orange and Chance streets on Dec. 22. No arrest has been made in the killing.
Public safety reporter Joseph Pierre can be reached at jpierre@gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on The Fayetteville Observer: All homicides reported by Fayetteville-area law enforcement in 2023
