In the early morning hours of September 25, 2020, emergency crews responded to a fire at the Watertown Lodge Apartments in Birmingham, Alabama. After firefighters extinguished flames in one unit they found the body of 27-year-old Ladarrius Jamiel Brooks. Investigators determined Brooks had been shot to death before the fire was set.

Authorities say the blaze was started in multiple locations inside the apartment, allegedly to conceal the homicide and destroy evidence. The Jefferson County Coroner’s Office identified Brooks and the Birmingham Police Department opened a homicide investigation. No arrests have been reported.

A funeral service for Brooks was held at New Beginning Christian Ministries and he was buried at Zion Memorial Gardens. If anyone has information that could help solve who killed Ladarrius Jamiel Brooks, please come forward to investigators.