On the morning of September 17, 2024, Garland police responded to a reported domestic disturbance at the Arts Apartments at Broadway Commons. Officers found the front door forced open and two small children inside. As officers entered, gunfire came from a back bedroom; they took cover and secured the children.

When 35-year-old Brodrick Earl Kennedy emerged from the bedroom he surrendered. Inside, officers discovered two women with gunshot wounds. One was pronounced dead at the scene; the other was taken to a hospital and later died. The victims were identified as 38-year-old Donillie Lashay Kennedy and her mother, 58-year-old Shirley Jean Phillips. Brodrick Kennedy, husband of Donillie and son-in-law of Shirley, was arrested at the scene and charged with capital murder, held without bond. The two children were unharmed and released to extended family.

Shirley Jean Phillips, born August 12, 1966, in Dallas, Texas, is remembered by family as a devoted mother and grandmother known for kindness and faith. Has anyone in the Garland area heard from Shirley or Donillie in the days before September 17, 2024, or seen activity at the Arts Apartments that could help investigators?