On December 26, 2017, 7-year-old Jo Lawrence Stewart was fatally shot in a home on Columbia Avenue in Swissvale, just outside Pittsburgh. He was found lying on top of his father, 29-year-old Walter Stewart Jr., who was also killed. The shooting occurred at about 4:30 p.m.; Jo Lawrence was taken to Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh of UPMC and died less than an hour later.

Authorities said the incident grew out of what they believed was a drug deal that went wrong. A witness reported hearing a scuffle followed by multiple gunshots after Walter Stewart Jr. entered the residence; prosecutors alleged he had gone there to purchase marijuana. Three men were arrested and charged with two counts of homicide and conspiracy: Donavan Wilson, 23, Brandon Barnett, 26, and Jacqua Barnett, 30. Defense attorneys had argued their clients acted in self-defense.

In May 2019 the Allegheny County District Attorney’s Office withdrew all homicide and conspiracy charges against Wilson and the Barnett brothers after the death of a key witness, which prosecutors said created insurmountable evidentiary problems; the charges could be refiled. Does anyone have information about the night of December 26, 2017, or about the victims’ movements that afternoon?