On August 6, 2010, four-year-old Shakur Sylvester Sikyala was found shot to death in Lanham, Maryland. He was discovered with his three-year-old sister, Shayla Shante Sikyala; their 38-year-old mother, Dawn Yvette Brooks; and their 41-year-old paternal aunt, Mwasiti Sikyala. All four victims had been shot in what police called a senseless, cowardly act.

The family had been living in a makeshift apartment above a detached garage, a space reportedly filled with trash and lacking running water or a toilet. Those deplorable conditions initially hampered the investigation. Police described the killings as connected to a drug relationship that went very bad — investigators said the motive involved a dispute over the sale of marijuana and allegedly stemmed from the disappearance of 60 pounds of marijuana.

Authorities arrested two suspects from Texas, 43-year-old Darrell Lynn Bellard and 18-year-old Tkeisha Nicole Gilmer, and charged each with four counts of first-degree murder. A Prince George’s County jury later convicted Darrell Lynn Bellard on four counts of first-degree murder; prosecutors sought life without parole.

If anyone knew the victims, their living situation, or the people involved in this case, can you share what you remember?