Rodrel N. Mathis, 31, was fatally shot on September 17, 2023, in the 1200 block of Melrose Avenue NW in Roanoke, Virginia. Police found Mathis inside a parked vehicle with critical gunshot wounds; another victim, Crystal Elizabeth Randolph Brown, was found outside a residence and also died at the scene. A third person suffered serious but non-life-threatening gunshot injuries and was taken to a local hospital.

Investigators tied the double homicide to a reported illegal narcotics transaction that escalated into an argument and gunfire. Law enforcement rapidly identified 25-year-old Edward Denoyer of Roanoke as the primary suspect; he fled and was considered armed and dangerous. Denoyer was arrested on October 18, 2023, in Vermillion, South Dakota, by the U.S. Marshals Capital Area Regional Fugitive Task Force and other agencies and was held there pending extradition to Virginia on charges including two counts of first-degree murder, malicious wounding, and multiple counts of using a firearm during a felony.

If anyone witnessed the shooting on Melrose Avenue NW or has information about the events that led to the confrontation, please come forward.