Christopher Waters, a 30-year-old violist and music teacher, was found shot and stabbed to death in his home on Pipers Gap Drive on the morning of December 9, 2016. A coworker discovered him unresponsive; his car was missing and the scene was initially treated as a possible home invasion. Waters taught at Belle Forest Community School and worked as a strings specialist at Amro Music. He had recently bought a house in Raleigh and was described as devoted to his students.

Police soon arrested 22-year-old Nicholas Brooks driving Waters’ car. Social media posts showing Waters and Brooks together led investigators to treat the killing as targeted rather than random. Brooks was charged with first-degree murder and another man, 22-year-old Ladarius Wilson, was charged as an accessory after the fact. Several other men were later indicted in connection with the case; Waters’ family continues to seek full justice.

Did anyone in the Memphis music or Raleigh neighborhood community have contact with Christopher around December 2016 that could help explain who might have wanted to harm him?