Brandon Rice, 33, was shot to death outside the Highland Park home he shared with his family on the morning of April 23, 2015. The morning began with a routine: Rice was outside warming his vehicle to take children to school when he was shot at about 7:20 a.m. His longtime partner, who said they had been together 14 years, and children were inside and witnessed the killing from a short distance. Rice was a father of six.

Investigators quickly focused on Dmarco Dorian-Vincent Hoskins. Less than a month earlier, on March 31, Rice had survived another shooting in Detroit; prosecutors later alleged Hoskins had been identified by Rice in that attack and was indicted on April 3. Court records and trial testimony described a pattern of contact and violence linking Hoskins and Nathan Stokes Jr. to both shootings, including recovered .44- and .45-caliber casings and testimony tying casings from the March and April scenes to the same .45-caliber gun.

Prosecutors contended Rice was killed to prevent him from testifying; Hoskins and Stokes were charged with first-degree premeditated murder and related counts but were acquitted at trial that began February 29, 2016. The legal aftermath included disputes over use of Rice’s prior statements and scrutiny of Detroit police officer Elijah Lately for allegedly sharing investigative information and later denying contacts. Did anyone in Highland Park see activity around the 300 block of Elmhurst that morning?