A foul odor coming from an Arnow Avenue apartment prompted a wellness check on August 26, 2023, that uncovered the body of 45-year-old Cindy Maxwell, a home attendant and mother of two. Police found Maxwell wrapped in a blanket; she had been shot multiple times and her body had been left in the unit for three days.

The investigation focused on Maxwell’s estranged husband and the girls’ father, 48-year-old Lacon Brown. The couple’s daughters, ages 6 and 11, were not in the apartment when officers arrived; they were later located safe with Brown. Authorities allege Brown shot Maxwell multiple times in front of the children, then forced them to get dressed and step over their mother’s body as they left the apartment, without calling for help.

Brown was arrested and charged with murder, manslaughter, and criminal possession of a weapon. The community remains shaken by the killing and the girls’ traumatic loss. If anyone knew Cindy, her movements before August 23, 2023, or has information about what happened at the Arnow Avenue apartment, please come forward.