On July 28, 2016, officers in Kansas City, Missouri, responded to a disturbance at the Stonewall Court apartments on Independence Avenue after residents reported hearing eight or nine gunshots and screaming shortly before 5:08 a.m. They found a naked, agitated 31-year-old man, identified as Derrick A. Williams, outside the building; he made statements to officers admitting he had killed someone inside.

Inside a second-story apartment officers found bullet holes in the walls, three young children hiding under a blanket, and the body of 32-year-old Denise Gayle in the bathroom with fatal gunshot wounds. Investigators reported the children had been injured during the incident: one child suffered a head injury from being struck with the firearm and another said the gun had been placed in her mouth. A semi-automatic handgun with an extended clip was recovered after a witness directed officers to where the weapon had been thrown.

Williams was taken into custody and later charged with second-degree murder, three counts of armed criminal action, and three counts of endangering the welfare of a child. In July 2017 he pled guilty to second-degree murder, two counts of first-degree assault, and three counts of armed criminal action and was sentenced to serve 28 years for the murder with concurrent terms for the other convictions. If anyone knew Denise Gayle or has information about the events that morning, please share what can help the investigation.