Kenneth Gant, a 16-year-old Black male, was lured to his death on Christmas Eve 2021 in West Jordan, Utah. Believing he was meeting two people to discuss joining their gang, he went to the parking lot of the Gene Fullmer Fitness and Recreation Center. Instead of a meeting, Gant was shot multiple times; his body was left behind a storage container and found on Christmas Day.

Investigators quickly identified two suspects: 18-year-old Jedediah Zane Newsome and a juvenile accomplice. Correspondence on Gant’s phone arranged the meeting for December 24. Authorities say the suspects became upset when Gant didn’t admit to being in a rival gang, and under the pretense of smoking marijuana they took him to a secluded spot where the shooting occurred. Newsome later confessed, saying the juvenile fired the first shots and he shot Gant two more times while Gant lay on the ground. Both suspects reportedly deleted messages after the killing.

Newsome was arrested and charged with criminal homicide, obstruction of justice, and felony discharge of a firearm; the juvenile suspect was also taken into custody. Kenneth’s family remembered him for his love of video games and his dogs. Did anyone in the West Jordan area see or hear anything that night that could shed more light on what happened?