On July 21, 2006, first responders in Pontiac, Michigan, were called to a fire at an apartment and discovered the remains of 31-year-old Markeda Lashia Byas and her two-month-old daughter, Arctavia Reed. The Oakland County Medical Examiner determined Markeda had been shot in the head before the fire and that Arctavia died of smoke inhalation. Investigators concluded the fire was arson, set to conceal the earlier killing.

Attention focused on Markeda’s boyfriend and the child’s father, Jimmie Reed Jr. Under questioning he confessed, citing jealousy, a belief that Markeda had been unfaithful and had transmitted a sexually transmitted disease to him, and a wish to avoid child support. He was arrested and charged with first-degree murder, second-degree murder, and arson. At trial he was convicted — first-degree murder for Arctavia’s death and second-degree murder for Markeda’s — and sentenced to life without parole.

Did anyone in Pontiac who knew Markeda or her family see signs of escalating tension before July 2006?