Julian Edward Tarver, a 32-year-old Black man from Birmingham, Alabama, was killed in the early hours of Monday, December 20, 2010, in a double homicide that also claimed the life of Samuel Arthur Shelby. Officers found the two men shot in a car stopped in the 1300 block of 57th Street; Birmingham Fire and Rescue pronounced both dead at the scene and counted them as the city’s 52nd and 53rd homicides of 2010.

Investigators said the violence likely began near the intersection of Bessemer Road and 57th Street, and that Tarver’s Cadillac DeVille had drifted to a stop against the curb behind a Pizza Hut with the driver’s-side windows blown out. A witness reported hearing gunfire followed almost immediately by a car speeding away. Police suggested the victims may have been shot a short distance from where the vehicle finally stopped and publicly raised the possibility of mistaken identity. Reports described both victims as having clean records, and police appealed for tips.

A later Crime Stoppers bulletin named Tyler Griffin as the owner of a Pontiac Bonneville believed connected to the shooting but emphasized he had not been charged. If anyone knew Julian Tarver, Samuel Shelby, or saw a Pontiac Bonneville in the area that night, please share what is known with investigators.