On January 27, 2022, 17-year-old Yazmink Speer of Columbus, Ohio, was shot on the city’s southeast side. She was found with a gunshot wound, taken to Mount Carmel East Hospital in critical condition, and died early the next morning.

Columbus police arrested 24-year-old DeVaughn Morgan and charged him with murder. Court documents say Morgan was the father of Speer’s 3-month-old baby. Detectives reported that Morgan changed his story several times before admitting he had placed a handgun inside the apartment and sold it to an unknown individual the following day. Police have not disclosed a motive.

Speer’s death was the eighth homicide in Columbus in 2022. The investigation is ongoing; anyone with information is asked to contact Columbus police.