Diunta Eugene Cross, 36, was fatally shot around 1:30 a.m. on January 2, 2023, at an apartment complex in the 1600 block of Beechwood Avenue, near Baxter Avenue in the Tyler Park neighborhood of Louisville, Kentucky. He was taken to a local hospital and later died of his injuries. Originally from Chicago Heights, Illinois, Cross had moved to Louisville and was remembered by family as a friendly, hardworking father who taught practical skills to his five children and was devoted to supporting them.

Louisville Metro Police Department’s Homicide Unit opened an investigation and on January 16, 2023 arrested 35-year-old Naji Lee Hughes, charging him with murder. At a probable cause hearing, prosecutors cited cell phone records and witness statements placing Hughes at the scene; one witness contradicted Hughes’s initial alibi that he was at home with his mother. The defense contended Hughes acted to protect that witness from Cross and disputed who fired the first shot. A judge found probable cause and the matter was set for presentation to a grand jury.

If anyone knew Diunta, his family, or has information about the shooting, please share what is known with investigators.