Kennedy David Drayton, 31, was killed in his Liberty, South Carolina, home in the early hours of March 28, 2022. Deputies found him on Moorefield Memorial Highway with a single fatal gunshot wound to the abdomen; the Pickens County Coroner’s Office ruled his death a homicide.

Nicole Michelle Heape, then 27, was at the scene and was found administering aid to Drayton. She told deputies she had shot him after an altercation and was initially held for questioning before being released while investigators reviewed her claim of self-defense. The Pickens County Sheriff’s Office later arrested her and charged her with murder and possession of a weapon during a violent crime.

Drayton, known to friends and family as KD, was born in Easton, Pennsylvania. He taught himself multiple instruments, made music across genres, and was a father to four children. Few details about the altercation itself have been made public; anyone who knew Drayton or saw activity at the Moorefield Memorial Highway residence that night is asked to come forward with information.