On June 7, 2022, four people were killed in a shooting at a home on Maple Avenue in Portsmouth’s Prentis Park neighborhood. Thirty-four-year-old Ashley Merricks was found dead inside the house along with Georgio Devontae Lee, 30; Oleisha Deanna Mears, 37; and 66-year-old Samuel Jones, who died later at a hospital.

A surviving witness said the attack began after a knock at the door. Merricks answered, screams followed, a man demanded to know the whereabouts of little baby, and then gunfire erupted. Portsmouth police identified two suspects, Raymond Gore, 58, and his nephew Antwann Jacque Gore, 40, and both were arrested and charged with multiple counts including aggravated murder.

Raymond Gore was tried in January 2024; prosecutors presented a witness who placed him at the scene, but the defense challenged that witness’s credibility and pointed to an absence of DNA or fingerprint evidence tying Gore to the house. After a four-day trial the jury acquitted Raymond Gore. Prosecutors later sought to nolle prosequi charges against Antwann Gore in November 2024, but a judge dismissed that motion and the charges were dismissed. No other suspects have been publicly identified and the case remains open.

If anyone knew Ashley Merricks or has information about that night on Maple Avenue, please share what can help investigators.