Eric D. Ballard Jr., 25, was found shot to death on November 29, 2016, in Indianapolis. His girlfriend discovered him in their child’s bedroom; she also found the apartment ransacked and a sliding glass door open, indicating a violent intrusion or robbery had occurred.

Investigators focused on two suspects, Gerald Tyree and Billy Holmes. A witness turned over a recorded phone call in which someone identified as Tyree confessed; detectives matched the voice to Tyree by comparing it to recordings from an earlier jail stay. Holmes later pleaded guilty in March 2018 to robbery resulting in serious bodily injury and cooperated with prosecutors.

A Marion County jury convicted Tyree at an October 2021 trial of murder, felony murder, robbery resulting in serious bodily injury, and carrying a handgun without a license; he was sentenced to 65 years. Appeals later raised questions about merging the felony murder count and aspects of the sentencing order.

Does anyone have information about Eric’s life in Indianapolis or the events on November 29, 2016?