On the night of August 1, 2021, 26-year-old Adam Deavers and 25-year-old Hayley Merrill were found dead inside a vehicle that had left the roadway and struck a tree in the 4100 block of East 35th Street in Indianapolis. Officers responded after reports of shots fired and a crash; medics pronounced both victims deceased at the scene. Investigators concluded the shootings occurred while the vehicle was eastbound on East 35th Street and that the car crash followed the shootings.

Ballistic testing later tied the handgun used in the double killing to a firearm recovered after a separate police shooting in September 2021. That weapon was linked to James Williams, a 33-year-old homicide suspect who fired at detectives and was fatally shot by police; the gun was also connected to another homicide and a non-fatal shooting from the prior year. The investigation into Deavers and Merrill has been listed as exceptionally cleared.

If anyone knew Adam Deavers or Hayley Merrill, or has information about the events on August 1, 2021, please come forward.