On the night of August 1, 2009, 24-year-old Trisha Babcock was sitting in a parked car on a dark street in Detroit when a 12-year-old boy, identified as DeMarco Harris, approached the driver’s side window with a gun and attempted a robbery. Babcock tried to reason with him and reached for the weapon. Harris fired three times, then opened the door, took her purse, and fled. Babcock was taken to a hospital and later died of her wounds.

DeMarco Harris was arrested and tried; the first trial ended with a hung jury. In a 2010 retrial he was convicted of felony murder, armed robbery, and a curfew violation. He said an older youth had forced him to take part. The court imposed a blended sentence that kept him in a high-security juvenile facility with a potential adult life term if not deemed satisfactorily adjusted by age 21. Harris was released from custody on his 21st birthday in 2017.

If anyone knew Trisha, witnessed the robbery, or has information about the events that night, please share what is known.