Jakayla Alfred, 31, was found dead inside her Lorraine Street apartment in Houston’s Fifth Ward on the evening of August 4, 2025. Patrol officers went to the unit about 6:25 p.m. for a welfare check and discovered her unresponsive; paramedics pronounced her dead at the scene. An autopsy determined she suffered fatal gunshot wounds.

Neighbors told reporters they had not seen her in days and had noticed a foul odor coming from the apartment. Detectives focused on Alfred’s partner, Gustavo Lerma, 30. He was taken into custody by HPD’s Northeast Patrol Crime Suppression Team on unrelated charges; on September 6 he was formally charged with murder in connection with her death. Public notices and community memorials have since noted her name, age, and the date of her death.

Was anyone in the Fifth Ward aware of Jakayla’s movements or seen her with someone in the days before August 4?