Branden Hughes, 31, moved from Detroit to Las Vegas with hopes of a fresh start and was living with his mother, Felicia Wimberly-Hughes, 46, in March 2016. On the morning of March 31, 2016, the two heard a loud argument at a neighbor’s house and went to check. There they encountered the neighbor’s son, 31-year-old James Craig Simpson, who was acting erratically. Simpson shot Branden in front of his mother.

Felicia ran home to get towels to help her son; Simpson followed and shot her before she could render aid. Simpson then engaged responding Las Vegas police in a gun battle during which a police K-9 named Nicky was killed. Simpson was shot by officers, survived with injuries reported to have left him paralyzed, and was charged with two counts of murder. Branden is remembered by family as a gifted drummer who performed at churches in Detroit and as a joker much loved by his children and siblings.

Did anyone in the neighborhood know Branden or Felicia, or see the events that morning?