Russell McKenzie, 57, was shot dead in his Walnut Street apartment near East Street in New Haven on December 4, 2024. Police were called about 1:15 a.m.; a woman found outside the unit was extremely distraught and taken to Yale New Haven Hospital as a precaution. McKenzie was pronounced dead at the scene. The Office of the Chief Medical Examiner ruled the death a gunshot fatality and the case was investigated as a homicide. Detectives executed a search warrant at the apartment and appealed for public help as the investigation continued.

Nearly five months later, 36-year-old Eileen Marrero of New Haven — the woman found outside the apartment — was arrested and charged with first-degree manslaughter with a firearm, criminal possession of a firearm, and carrying a pistol without a permit; she was held on $1 million bond. Police said Marrero and McKenzie were friends and that she claimed the shooting was an accident. Friends and family remembered McKenzie as a devoted father of five, a grandfather, sober for 20 years, and someone who helped others; they noted he had opened his door to help the suspect on several occasions.

Does anyone have information about McKenzie’s last known movements or about contacts he may have had that night?