Marquai TaeKirkland, a male resident of Philadelphia, Mississippi, was killed on a May evening in 2014 after getting into a green Ford Explorer to accept a ride. He briefly went back inside his home to retrieve a gun, then rode as a passenger; that was the last time his brother saw him alive. The driver, later identified as Samuel Amos Jr., was joined by D'Nado Hunter in the vehicle. At some point Amos told Hunter to take the wheel and then fired a single, fatal shot to Kirkland’s head. Amos dragged Kirkland’s body from the vehicle and left it on the side of a gravel road, then threatened Hunter to keep him silent.

Investigators linked Amos to the Explorer through fingerprint and DNA evidence. A Neshoba County grand jury indicted Amos for first-degree murder; Hunter, initially charged as well, testified at trial describing Amos shooting Kirkland and disposing of the body. A jury found Samuel Amos guilty and, because he had been indicted as a habitual offender, the court sentenced him to life without parole. Appeals challenging accomplice-testimony instructions and a mistrial motion were denied by the state supreme court.

If anyone knew Marquai, was with him that evening, or has information about how he came to be in that Explorer, please share what is known.