Candice Melo was 26 when a dispute at a home in Sandy, Utah, on December 18, 2014 ended in gunfire. Melo had been staying for about a week at the residence of 52-year-old Larry Kent Graff; an argument with Graff’s girlfriend over money that Melo allegedly owed escalated into accusations about theft of money, drugs and electronics. Graff became involved and produced a firearm. Melo and her boyfriend, Michael Grimsley, tried to flee; Melo grabbed a laptop as they left. Graff chased them into the driveway and fired. Melo was struck three times — head, hip and lower back — and Grimsley escaped after pretending to have been hit.

First responders initially believed Melo was already deceased at the scene and medical treatment was delayed until an officer noticed movement; she was transported to a hospital and died about nine hours after being shot. Graff admitted to the shooting when police arrived. He was charged with first-degree murder and attempted murder; a jury later convicted him of manslaughter, a second-degree felony, and sentenced him to one to fifteen years in prison. Melo’s young daughter was left without a mother.