On the evening of July 9, 2021, seven-year-old Zaydanielys Zai Rodriguez Irizarry was struck by a stray bullet that passed through the wall of her family’s apartment at Wasatch Commons in Heber City, Utah. Her parents, who had moved from Puerto Rico, rushed her to Heber Valley Hospital after a sibling phoned to say Zaydanielys was coughing up blood; she died later that night. A GoFundMe was set up to help the family return her body to Puerto Rico for burial.

Deputies tracing the shooting focused on a nearby apartment where they heard another gunshot and found three intoxicated men: 34-year-old Christopher Robert O’Connell, 37-year-old Colin David Howells, and 21-year-old Trever Joe Pinter. Investigators determined the fatal round came from that unit. Witnesses said O’Connell had been waving a handgun while intoxicated; O’Connell was identified as the person who fired the shot and was arrested on multiple charges. Howells faced sexual battery and intoxication charges after two women in the apartment accused him and O’Connell of sexual assault, and Pinter was charged with obstruction for initially lying about seeing a gun.

O’Connell initially pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder but in December 2022 pleaded guilty to a reduced manslaughter charge under a deal that dropped seven other counts; he was awaiting sentencing and faced up to 15 years in prison. Does anyone have information about the night at Wasatch Commons or the people who lived there?