On May 5, 2023, 29-year-old mother of three Shaliah (also spelled Shalia) Hendrix was found inside her vehicle off Route 702 near Marlyn Avenue in Essex, Maryland, after first responders initially treated the scene as a crash. She had suffered a fatal gunshot wound and was pronounced dead at a nearby hospital. A makeshift memorial of green balloons and candles was later left at the location where her car had veered off the road.

Friends remembered Hendrix as bubbly, known as Leah, and praised her baking and beauty skills and her habit of feeding the homeless. Baltimore County homicide detectives say the shooting began after a road rage incident on Pulaski Highway that continued onto Route 702, when a second vehicle allegedly pulled alongside Hendrix’s car and she was shot. Investigators used witness statements, surveillance footage, and cell phone location data in the probe.

On May 17, 2023, detectives arrested 29-year-old Rylan Harris and 28-year-old Darashea Gross. Harris was charged with first-degree murder, first-degree assault, and firearm offenses; Gross was charged with first-degree murder. Both deny involvement and are being held without bond pending trial. Did anyone in the area see the vehicles or the incident that afternoon?