Trystan Benallie was 28 when she was shot dead in her Phoenix apartment in the early morning of November 8, 2021. An Indigenous mother of five, she and a 23-year-old friend, Martin Louis, were both pronounced dead at the scene; a two-year-old child in the home was physically unharmed. Authorities described the incident as a domestic violence shooting.

Investigators identified 27-year-old Steven Love-Mason, Benallie’s ex-boyfriend, as the suspect. He is alleged to have gone to the apartment in the 2200 block of East Beardsley Road, had a neighbor knock on the door, then forced his way inside and opened fire. Love-Mason fled but was later located and arrested in Tempe and charged with two counts of homicide and other offenses.

Court documents and family statements say Benallie had reported prior abuse: she filed a police report in early October 2021 alleging unlawful entry and a threat to a neighbor with a gun, obtained a restraining order on October 12, and called police again for an alleged assault four days later. Love-Mason was arrested on October 22 for violating the order and other charges but was released from jail about a week before the fatal shooting, a detail that has prompted deep frustration among her family.

If anyone knew Trystan or has information about what led up to that morning, please share what you know.