Seventeen-year-old Zoey Kelley-Hickman was found dead inside an apartment in the 1700 block of Benning Road Northeast in Washington, D.C., on July 4, 2025. Law enforcement determined she had sustained a fatal gunshot wound; her body was discovered concealed in a closet under blankets and other items, and her death was ruled a homicide.

Investigators quickly focused on 18-year-old Naqwan Antonio Lucas, identified as Kelley-Hickman’s boyfriend. Lucas was arrested and later indicted by a grand jury on charges of first-degree premeditated murder in connection with her death. Prosecutors connected the killing to another violent incident earlier that week: Lucas was also identified as a suspect in a June 30 shooting near 7th and M streets NW that left Capitol Hill intern Eric Tarpinian-Jachym dead and two others injured. Authorities have suggested Zoey may have been killed because of what she knew about the June 30 shooting.

Family, friends, and community members held a vigil for Zoey, and her parents expressed their grief and hope for justice. Did anyone in the neighborhood see or hear anything unusual around the Benning Road apartment in late June or early July 2025?