On May 6, 2024, Regina La’Shall Metcalf-Phillips, 55, of Duncanville, Texas, was found dead in her apartment after a fire. Firefighters discovered she had sustained a fatal gunshot wound to the head and she was pronounced dead at the scene. Regina had worked for Child Protective Services for 19 years and as a Human Services Advisor for five years; she was a mother of three and is remembered by family and colleagues for her dedication and warmth.

In the days before her death, Duncanville police responded to calls about verbal altercations between Regina and her boyfriend, 63-year-old James Rias, including on March 3 and May 5, 2024; on those occasions officers did not make arrests, determining no offenses had occurred. Surveillance footage showed Rias purchasing a gas can and a lighter in the early hours of May 6 and returning to the apartment multiple times that night. An explosion was observed at the residence shortly after 6 a.m., around the time Rias left the scene. Rias was arrested at the scene on unrelated traffic violations and has been charged with Regina’s murder and held at the Dallas County Jail on $1 million bond.

Did anyone who knew Regina or who was in the neighborhood that night see anything that could help investigators?