Dejah Adkins was 16 when she was shot to death in Milwaukee on June 10, 2018. She and her 19-year-old boyfriend, Frank Cardona, were found shot near 87th and Congress streets; a 17-year-old boy was also wounded and survived. Dejah’s family said they were shocked and did not know why she had been in that neighborhood. She was described as a low-key teen who liked math and animals and had recently earned her driver’s license.

Investigators say the shooting followed a planned robbery of a marijuana dealer that went wrong. Court documents state Terrance Mason, 21, admitted shooting both Adkins and Cardona in the head; Kevon Barnes, 18, was also implicated. The autopsy reported Dejah sustained three gunshot wounds to the head; Cardona was hit by 9mm and .40 caliber bullets. Mason later pleaded guilty to two counts of first-degree reckless homicide and received a 70-year prison term with extended supervision; Barnes was charged and scheduled for trial.