On January 2, 2023, at about 10:35 p.m., police responding to gunfire on the 1200 block of Seymour Avenue in Utica found two men with gunshot wounds. Twenty-five-year-old William M. Morris Jr., known by nicknames Little Man and Skully, was struck in the head and taken to a Syracuse-area hospital; he died the next day, January 3, 2023. A second victim, shot in the abdomen, underwent emergency surgery and was expected to survive.

Morris, born May 17, 1997, was a father remembered for an outgoing personality, a bright smile, a love of dancing, and work as a cook at Texas Roadhouse. Officers reported hearing the shots and saw a green van drive away; a pursuit led to the apprehension of 19-year-old Abdulkadir Ali after he allegedly ran from the vehicle and a handgun was recovered. Investigators later identified another 19-year-old, Issa Ali, as the alleged getaway driver. In May 2023 an Oneida County grand jury indicted both teenagers, charging Abdulkadir Ali with second-degree murder and two counts of criminal possession of a weapon, and charging Issa Ali with second-degree murder.

Did anyone who knew William or who was in that neighborhood that night see the green van or notice anything unusual?