On the morning of February 17, 2015, gunshots were reported at a home on Florence Street in Inkster, Michigan. Officers arriving around 1:30 a.m. found two women inside who had been shot multiple times. Thirty-eight-year-old Shara Newell and her friend, 32-year-old Miracle LaFaye Rogers, were both pronounced dead at the scene.

Newell was the mother of five children, ages four to nineteen at the time, and family members described her as a devoted, good-spirited and caring parent. Rogers was the biological daughter of Wanda Young of the Marvelettes and a mother to three young girls. Investigators from the Inkster Police Department, assisted by the Michigan State Police, stated early on that the shooting was not random; police said one victim was known to them, a comment that Newell’s family criticized as unfair to her memory. Officers interviewed several persons of interest but did not announce any arrests.

The case remains unsolved and police continue to seek leads. If anyone knew Shara Newell or has information about what happened that night, please come forward.