Do you know who murdered Montez Smith? Montez La'Tra Smith, a young man known affectionately as "Tez" to his loved ones, was at the beginning of his adult life when it was tragically taken from him. The 22-year-old Black man from Louisville, Kentucky, was remembered by a large and loving family. His survivors included his father, Tyson Williams; his mother and stepfather, Rachel and Stoney Mack, Sr.; sisters Ranisha Smith, Tanay, Tyshanae, and Tauri Williams; and brothers Stoney, Jr., and Aaron Mack, and Donniel Gordon, Jr. He was also cherished by his grandparents and a great-grandmother, leaving behind a wide circle of family who mourned his sudden and violent death.
The night that ended Montez's life began in the early morning hours of Wednesday, March 1, 2017. Inside his home at 1020 Magazine Street, in Louisville's Russell neighborhood, a burst of gunfire shattered the quiet. Louisville Metro Police Department's First Division officers were dispatched to the 1000 block of the street shortly before 1:45 a.m.
after receiving reports of a shooting. When they arrived, they found two people had been shot inside the residence. One was Montez, and the other was a teenage male whose identity was not publicly disclosed.
Emergency crews responded to the chaotic scene, but for Montez, it was too late. According to the Jefferson County Coroner's Office, he was pronounced dead at his home at 1:57 a.m. An autopsy later confirmed that he had died from a single gunshot wound. The second victim, the teenager found alongside Montez, was rushed to the University of Louisville Hospital. Police officials stated that he was "conscious and alert" upon being transported and was expected to survive his injuries. No further information was released about his condition or what he may have witnessed.
The investigation was immediately handed over to the LMPD's Homicide Unit. Detectives began processing the scene and canvassing the neighborhood for witnesses, but information was scarce. In the days following the shooting, police did not announce a possible motive or release any description of potential suspects. No arrests were made, and no one was immediately booked into Metro Corrections in connection with the crime. The case was a grim addition to the city's growing homicide count. Montez's death was the 19th criminal homicide investigated by Louisville Metro Police in 2017, a year that was already on a violent trajectory after the city had seen a record 118 homicides in 2016.
A week after his death, family and friends gathered to say their final goodbyes to Montez. A visitation was held on a Thursday morning at the Midwest Church of Christ on Garland Avenue, followed by a funeral service at noon. He was later laid to rest in the Louisville Cemetery. The services offered a moment of shared grief for a community shaken by the loss of a young life, but they could not provide the answers his family so desperately sought.
Years have passed since Montez Smith was killed, and his case has grown cold. His name and photograph are listed on the Louisville Metro Police Department's gallery of open homicide cases from 2017, a silent reminder of a life cut short and a promise of justice unfulfilled. The investigation officially remains open, but there has been no public progress reported, and no suspects have ever been named. The silence surrounding the case has left his family and community in a prolonged state of uncertainty and grief, still waiting for someone to come forward with the information that could finally solve his murder.
The Louisville Metro Police Department continues to ask for the public's help in resolving this case. Anyone with information, no matter how insignificant it may seem, is urged to contact the department's anonymous tip line at 502-574-LMPD. 
