Carlton Walker Whitley, 25, was shot and killed the night of July 21, 2015, in the parking lot of an apartment complex at Darlington and Metting roads in Wilmington, North Carolina. Officers responding to a reported dispute upgraded the call to shots fired and found Whitley in the parking lot with gunshot wounds; he was taken to New Hanover Regional Medical Center and pronounced dead shortly after. A weapon was recovered nearby but police did not immediately confirm whether it was connected to the shooting, and no arrests were made right away.

Whitley had become a father in April 2015. In September 2015, 21-year-old Antonio Beatty was arrested and charged with first-degree murder; prosecutors said the shooting followed a dispute involving another individual over a girl and that Whitley was not the intended target. The case encountered delays, and at trial the jury acquitted Beatty, citing insufficient evidence after the murder weapon was not produced and a key witness withdrew; DNA placing Beatty at the scene and an eyewitness identification were among the contested elements. Does anyone have information about that night or the people involved that could shed light on what happened?