Esmerelda Lizete Rodriguez Perez, 28, was killed in a shooting that shattered a children’s birthday celebration on Betsy Lane in Lexington during the early morning hours of September 8, 2024. A mother of four, described by family as devoted to her children, church and her work as a cosmetologist, she had gone to the gathering with family and, according to relatives, with her children present. A vehicle passed by and shots were fired; Esmerelda was found gravely wounded and later pronounced dead at the hospital. Another man was injured in the same burst of gunfire and survived.

Lexington police treated the incident as a homicide and investigated for weeks. By late November, detectives had identified two brothers, Brian Marquez Chavez and Kevin Marquez Chavez, and obtained arrest warrants charging them with murder, attempted murder, multiple counts of first-degree wanton endangerment, and first-degree criminal mischief. Esmerelda’s family publicly offered a $5,000 reward for information leading to an arrest as they mourned and pressed for answers.

A tip later led law enforcement in Okeechobee County, Florida, to locate and arrest both brothers on the outstanding Fayette County warrants; they were held in Okeechobee County pending extradition. The case against Brian and Kevin Marquez Chavez remains pending with no completed trial or convictions reported. If anyone knew Esmerelda, was at the party, or has information about the shooting, please come forward.