Yinairy Medina Castro, 38, was fatally shot on the morning of March 27, 2024, in Tacoma, Washington. A passerby found her lying in the street near a homeless encampment at Tacoma Avenue South and Delin Street. She had suffered multiple gunshot wounds to her neck and was pronounced dead at the scene after emergency crews attempted life-saving measures.

Investigators learned Medina Castro and the man later accused of killing her were residents of the same encampment. That friend’s boyfriend confronted Brown; witnesses say Brown walked to his tent, and moments later shots were fired. Medina Castro was reportedly seated on a couch inside a community tent when struck, then made her way into the street.

Randy Douglas Brown was arrested a little over a week after the shooting and initially charged with first-degree murder; the charge was later amended to second-degree murder, to which he pleaded guilty in August. The court sentenced him to 18 years in prison. Medina Castro was born in Humacao, Puerto Rico, had worked in a factory, and enjoyed makeup and hair styling; her remains were returned to Puerto Rico for burial. No one spoke on her behalf at sentencing. Anyone with information about Medina Castro or the encampment where she lived is asked to come forward.