Maxwell Kroll was 17 and a senior at Calumet New Tech High School when he was found shot to death on October 16, 2020, alongside his friend 18-year-old Elijah Robinson. Their bodies were discovered inside a residence in the 3900 block of West 51st Avenue in unincorporated Calumet Township after the girlfriend of one of the teens grew worried when she could not reach him by phone and called 911. Both victims had sustained fatal gunshot wounds and the Lake County Sheriff’s Department opened a double homicide investigation.

Investigators tied the killings to retaliation for a stolen handgun and arrested three people: 42-year-old Dawn M. Carden, 36-year-old Alvino S. Amaya, and 19-year-old Elijah D. Robinson. A witness told police that on the night before the bodies were found, she was on a FaceTime call with Elijah Robinson while Amaya allegedly demanded the whereabouts of a gun. Amaya was later convicted by a Lake County jury on two counts of murder. Carden was also charged federally on firearms counts and faced additional state charges including dealing a narcotic drug and contributing to the delinquency of a minor.

Kroll had planned to attend trade school to become a welder and was remembered for his infectious laugh, bright smile, and sense of humor. Did anyone in the area see or hear anything relevant the night before October 16, 2020?