On the evening of July 6, 2008, 7-year-old Maria Del Carmen Menchaca was playing in her front yard in Salt Lake City after returning from a neighbor’s birthday party when a single bullet from a drive-by shooting struck and killed her. The shot was not aimed at Maria; the intended target was her older cousin, who was with her at the time. The killing prompted immediate outrage and calls for action against gang violence in the neighborhood.

Investigators traced the shot to an SUV and arrested three people who had been inside the vehicle. The shooter was identified as 16-year-old Gabriel Alejandro Alvarez. The driver was 20-year-old Frank Puga Benavidez. A 16-year-old female, Mae Goodman Johnson, was also present; she allegedly retrieved a gun from her home and gave it to Alvarez. All three were charged in connection with the shooting.

Gabriel Alejandro Alvarez was convicted of murder and sentenced to 16 years to life. Frank Puga Benavidez pleaded guilty to first-degree felony murder and faced the same 16 years to life sentence. Mae Goodman Johnson pleaded guilty to second-degree felony manslaughter. Does anyone have additional information about Maria’s life or the community impact in the years after the killing?