On January 8, 2023, police in Kansas City, Missouri, answered a shooting call in the 2000 block of East 73rd Street shortly before 1:00 a.m. Officers found two people unresponsive in the front yard of a residence. Charles Leavell Martin, a 46-year-old Black man, was pronounced dead at the scene. A second victim, 35-year-old Tanisha Williams, was taken to a hospital with life-threatening injuries and died the following morning.

Investigators say Damon Goodrich arrived at Williams’ home that night and encountered Martin, Williams’ cousin. Surveillance footage reportedly shows Goodrich speaking with Martin in the front yard before shots were fired. Witness statements and court documents allege Goodrich shot both Martin and Williams and then fled in a vehicle; several of Williams’ children were present and witnessed parts of the attack.

Goodrich was arrested and charged in the double homicide. Prosecutors introduced the surveillance video and testimony placing Goodrich at the scene; a jury convicted him of two counts of second-degree murder and two counts of armed criminal action in November 2023, and a lengthy sentence followed in February 2024. Does anyone have additional information about Martin’s life or his connection to the neighborhood?