On the night of June 23, 2024, officers in Syracuse responded to a report at East Fayette Street and Westmoreland Avenue and found 23-year-old Jahliek Stewart lying unresponsive with a severe, bleeding wound to his torso. First responders took him to Upstate University Hospital in critical condition; he died of his injuries the next day, June 24.

Initial reports described a shooting, but investigators with the Criminal Investigations Division and the Homicide Unit, after interviews, a neighborhood canvass, search warrants, and evidence analysis, determined Stewart had been fatally stabbed. Police identified 22-year-old Ashley Roche as a suspect; Roche voluntarily surrendered on June 25 and was charged with second-degree manslaughter and fourth-degree criminal possession of a weapon.

A guilty plea to manslaughter was entered and, in March 2026, a judge imposed a 13-year prison sentence. If anyone has information about Stewart or the events that night, please share what is known.