Juanita Payne was 15 and from Dallas, Texas, when she was killed at a July 4, 2008 party. Juanita was struck by a bullet; investigators were not able to conclusively tie her fatal wound to Hardge’s gun.

Hardge was indicted by a grand jury for murder but later pled guilty to engaging in organized criminal activity, and the murder charge was dropped. He said he did not see anyone in front of him when he fired, does not believe his bullet killed Juanita, and expressed remorse and apologized to the Payne family. The case was featured on the television program The First 48, which showed detectives struggling to link Hardge to the fatal shot.

The community and Juanita’s family continue to mourn her death. Did anyone at the party or nearby that night see how the shooting started or where the shots came from?