Vanthony Burns, 19, a Black man from Flint, Michigan, was killed by gunfire on January 7, 2015, inside an apartment at the Atherton East complex off Dort Highway. Officers responding to a 911 call that afternoon found Vanthony and his mother, Sue Burns, dead inside the unit. Early reports described the incident as a double homicide; detectives initially had no suspects as the neighborhood absorbed the shock.

Within days authorities announced an arrest. Flint Police reported that Demechieo Pea was taken into custody and prosecutors charged him with two counts of first-degree murder, plus armed robbery, being a felon in possession, and felony firearm. The charges framed the killings as connected to theft and the presence of an unlawfully possessed gun. The community continues to grieve the loss of a mother and son whose home became a crime scene.