Veniesha Latrice Hanks, a 31-year-old mother of three, was found dead from a gunshot wound on December 15, 2023, in the 5000 block of Evanston Court in Bakersfield, California. She is remembered by family as vibrant and devoted to her daughters, ages 12, 6, and 1; the girls are now being cared for by their grandmother.

Bakersfield police identified 34-year-old Dontrel Jackson, the father of Hanks’s youngest child, as a person of interest. Jackson told investigators he was at home with another woman the morning of the shooting and that a struggle occurred when he recognized Hanks attempting to enter; he said a firearm discharged accidentally and Hanks was fatally wounded. Jackson, a convicted felon prohibited from possessing firearms, was arrested on March 11, 2024, and charged with involuntary manslaughter, domestic violence, and being a felon in possession of a firearm. He pleaded not guilty and was released on $50,000 bail pending further court proceedings.

Hanks’s family has publicly expressed frustration with the pace of the investigation and legal process and has set up a GoFundMe to support her daughters. Does anyone in Bakersfield have information about the events on Evanston Court that morning?