Benjamin Lee Friar, 32, a realtor from Forest, Virginia, was shot and killed at the Greenfield Apartments on Longview Road in Lynchburg on a Wednesday night in November 2018. He had arranged to meet an acquaintance and, according to court testimony, went to purchase marijuana from 18-year-old Tyler Dabney. An altercation inside Dabney’s sister’s apartment escalated and Dabney shot Friar multiple times. Emergency services responded but Friar died of his injuries.

Police identified Tyler Dabney as the suspect and he was taken into custody, initially charged with second-degree murder and using a firearm in the commission of a felony. Trial testimony established that Friar and Dabney knew each other and that Friar had been a regular customer; Friar’s mother said he had schizoaffective disorder and used marijuana to ease his anxiety. Dabney’s defense was that he acted in self-defense; he also apologized to Friar’s family during the proceedings. A jury convicted Dabney of voluntary manslaughter and recommended a four-year prison sentence in February 2020.

If anyone knew Benjamin, his routines, or the circumstances of that November meeting, please share what might help explain what happened that night.