In the early morning hours of January 6, 2022, eight-year-old Aiden Carter Williams was found dead inside a home on Charolais Drive in Tuscaloosa, Alabama after deputies responded to reports of a shooting around 3:00 a.m. Deputies encountered several witnesses who had fled the house and said a man later identified as 34-year-old Darrin Lamar Patton Jr. had possibly shot his girlfriend, 29-year-old Derika Shanice McGhee, during a dispute.

When officers could not make contact with anyone inside, the Sheriff’s Office Tactical Unit entered and discovered the bodies of Patton, McGhee, and Aiden. The Tuscaloosa Violent Crimes Unit concluded Patton shot and killed Derika and her son and then took his own life, classifying the incident as a double murder-suicide. No arrests were made because the suspect was deceased.

If anyone has information about Aiden, Derika, or the events that night, please share what you know with local authorities.