Scott Blake, a 57-year-old White man, died on January 6, 2023, inside a home on Willard Street Extension in the Town of Ellicott, New York, after a shotgun blast struck him in the head. Police were dispatched after a 911 call around 10:00 p.m.; an officer arriving first encountered Tucker Richard on the front porch and found Blake inside with a fatal head wound. Investigators focused on Richard, then 18 and living in the same household, who was taken into custody as officers executed a search warrant and documented signs of a struggle.

Prosecutors charged Richard with second-degree murder and later obtained an indictment; bail was set at reported options including $2.5 million cash. Court testimony and evidence described a volatile, close-quarters confrontation: a damaged bedroom door and frame, references to a sawed-off shotgun and a pocketknife, recorded interviews in which Richard said he’d been awakened and struck, and forensic testimony that Blake was shot with birdshot from under roughly four to five feet. A jury in Chautauqua County Court ultimately found Richard not guilty of second-degree murder and not guilty of criminally negligent homicide.

Are there neighbors, family members, or anyone who knew Scott Blake or the household who can shed light on the conflict that night?