Kandice Sue Smith, 21, was fatally shot on October 6, 2009, on Tucson’s southwest side during what had been a visit with family. She and her boyfriend, Rodney Lavon Kirk, left his mother’s home together; moments later a gun in Kirk’s possession discharged and a single round struck Kandice in the right side of her torso. She died shortly afterward, and records describe her death as gun violence in a domestic setting.

Investigators focused on Kirk after his initial statement that the shooting was accidental. A medical examiner testified the muzzle had been pressed into Kandice’s side when the gun fired, and other evidence conflicted with Kirk’s account. Tucson authorities charged him with second-degree murder; at a May 2010 trial prosecutors sought that conviction while the defense argued negligent homicide. The jury returned a manslaughter verdict, and sentencing was set before Judge John Leonardo for June 28.

Kandice’s family has worked to preserve her memory, including a small community book collection called Kandice’s Korner at San Jose City College created by her sister Julinda LeDee. Did anyone know Kandice or have information about her life in Tucson around 2009?