In the pre-dawn hours of August 15, 2024, Travis Tremayne Pennington, 35, and 22-year-old coworker Kiara Hootman were found fatally shot inside a vehicle in the Normandy Village Apartments parking lot in Michigan City. Police responded to a 911 call about 5:30 a.m.; the LaPorte County Coroner ruled both deaths homicides and reported the shots were fired from outside the car. An autopsy found Pennington had three gunshot wounds to his head and neck; Hootman had four gunshot wounds to her left arm and back. No weapons were recovered inside the vehicle. Pennington lived at the complex; Hootman had been staying with him.

Investigators developed a motive of revenge and focused on 26-year-old Armann Johnson, a former coworker who had been in an abusive relationship with Hootman. Court documents say Johnson warned Pennington to stay away from Hootman about a week before the shooting. Within 48 hours police located Johnson’s vehicle, recovered glass consistent with the broken passenger-side mirror of the victims’ car, a holster for a semi-automatic handgun, and dirt matching tire tracks at the scene. Johnson was arrested and charged in connection with the killings and is being held without bond. Does anyone who knew Travis or saw activity at Normandy Village Apartments that morning have information to share?