Dayton Willis was 16 when he was found fatally shot in the early hours of August 31, 2023, in Columbus, Georgia, one day after his birthday. He was discovered in his aunt’s car parked by a baseball field at Double Church Park on Double Churches Road with multiple gunshot wounds and was pronounced dead at 1:36 A.M. A Colt .38 caliber special revolver was reported to have been in his lap.

Columbus Police Department’s Violent Crimes Unit identified two suspects. A 15-year-old, Akiraon Reed, was arrested in November 2023 on charges including murder and firearm offenses. A 20-year-old, Andrew Crowell, was arrested in Harris County on October 17, 2024, and extradited to Muscogee County on similar charges. Prosecutors presented text messages and surveillance video they say tie the two defendants to the incident; defense attorneys disputed the prosecutors’ account, saying Willis had a ski mask and a gun near his lap and that Willis contacted Reed first that night.

A jury convicted both men of felony murder in March 2026; Crowell was found guilty on all counts including malice murder, while Reed was convicted on all counts except malice murder. Sentencing was scheduled for April 1st. Did anyone who knew Dayton or who was at Double Church Park that night see or hear anything that could help clarify what happened?