Blake Sale Rhea, 48, a Memphis bassist and music teacher, was shot and killed in the early morning of November 6, 2024, after a verbal dispute outside Louis Connelly’s Bar for Fun Times & Friendship on South Cleveland Street. The confrontation, which reportedly began inside the bar over a woman, moved outside; surveillance footage shows Rhea walking to his car, followed by 51-year-old Edward Wurl, who appeared to be concealing a shiny, pointed object. A muzzle flash was seen and Rhea was later found slumped in the driver’s seat, with cuts and gunshot wounds, and was pronounced dead at the scene.

Witnesses identified Wurl in a photo lineup. He was located that same day at the Memphis Mental Health Institute and taken into custody.

Anyone who witnessed the incident outside the bar or has additional information is asked to come forward.