Derrich Franklin Bradford was 27 when he was shot and killed in the early morning hours of July 31, 2018, at a home on the 700 block of Byron Avenue on Columbus’s East Side. He was pronounced dead at OSU East Hospital shortly after 7:30 a.m. A female victim was also flown to OSU Main Hospital in critical condition.

Columbus police identified Marquis Denzell Braxton, 30, of the South Side, as the suspect. Braxton and Bradford had been incarcerated together previously and knew each other. Police said an argument preceded the shooting and that Braxton fled the scene in a tan 2001 or 2002 Oldsmobile Alero before later being arrested. He faced aggravated murder and aggravated burglary charges; the jury in his 2020 trial hung on all counts. Facing a retrial, Braxton pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter, attempted murder, and having a weapon while under disability and received an 18-year prison sentence.

Some prosecution witnesses had retired and other witnesses reportedly had recall issues as the case aged, factors prosecutors cited while resolving the case with a plea.