Marjester Marty Thornton, a 37-year-old Black man, was shot and killed outside his parents’ home in the 3200 block of Urban Avenue in Columbus, Georgia, on the evening of September 25, 2021. Around 9:30 p.m., as he walked out of the house while on the phone, three gunshots rang out; neighbors’ security footage captured the shots, a car speeding away, and his family’s screams. Thornton was found with a gunshot wound and was pronounced dead at the scene at 10:05 p.m.

Witnesses reported a red Mustang fleeing the area. Cell phone data placed Hensley near the shooting; a red Mustang belonging to him was found burning a few hours later with a .223-caliber rifle shell casing inside, and the medical examiner linked Thornton’s fatal wound to a similar high-velocity round.

Hensley was arrested on December 20, 2021, and charged with murder, aggravated assault, first-degree arson and other counts. At trial in March 2024 the jury convicted him of malice murder, felony murder, aggravated assault, first-degree arson and using a gun to commit a crime; he received life without parole. Did anyone in the neighborhood see the red Mustang on the night of September 25, 2021?