Kandace L. Mervin, 38, of Johnstown, Pennsylvania, was a mother of four remembered by family as smart, joyful, and kind. On the morning of July 8, 2023, a domestic dispute at her Wood Street home escalated to gunfire. Police were first called at 4:12 a.m. for a verbal disturbance between Kandace and her boyfriend, 34-year-old Michael Lyles Jr.; officers reported no visible injuries and instructed Lyles to leave despite a court order from the previous month requiring him to avoid contact with Kandace.

About 40 minutes later Kandace called 911 again and the dispatcher heard an argument and Kandace say there was a firearm in the home; gunshots then rang out and the line went silent. Young children were heard in the background asking who shot her and naming the boyfriend. Kandace was shot three times, twice in the head, and pronounced dead at the scene at 6:06 a.m. Lyles was taken into custody two blocks away and later charged with criminal homicide and related counts; after a September preliminary hearing he was ordered to stand trial and remains held without bond.

If anyone knew Kandace, her routines, or has information about what happened that morning, please share what you know.