Donnie Ferguson, a 43-year-old man from Columbus, Ohio, was found with multiple gunshot wounds on September 6, 2021, in the 2100 block of Haviland Drive in southeast Columbus. He was taken to Grant Medical Center and pronounced dead at 10:42 p.m.; his death was recorded as the city’s 143rd homicide that year.

Police identified 32-year-old Brandon Lee Smith as a suspect and arrested him in the 1800 block of North 4th Street. Investigators reported Ferguson had been involved in a confrontation earlier that day which may have led to the shooting. Surveillance placed Smith’s car at the apartment complex during the incident; Smith testified he had been there to see someone else and left after hearing gunfire.

Smith was charged with murder, but after a six-day trial a Franklin County jury found him not guilty of all charges, concluding he did not know Ferguson and was not responsible for the shooting. Ferguson’s family and the community were left grieving; the killing remains a loss for those who knew him.

Did anyone in the area see or hear anything on September 6, 2021, that could help clarify what happened?