Jennifer Paul

Jennifer Paul was a 33-year-old mother whose life was full of love, centered on her partner, Derek Odell, and their young son, Kaleb. Just shy of his second birthday when she died, Kaleb was the light of her life. “Everybody that knew her, loved her,” Derek would later say, struggling to comprehend her sudden and violent death. For those who knew her, the loss was immense, a void created in a world that her son would now have to navigate without his mother.

The night that ended Jennifer’s life began in the early hours of Thursday, September 7, 2017. She was in a car with Derek at the intersection of Fort Street and Outer Drive in southwest Detroit when the unthinkable happened. At around 1:30 a.m., another vehicle pulled alongside them, and a person inside opened fire. Jennifer was struck in the head. Derek, who was with her in the car, later told reporters he believed the shooting was the result of a dispute over a $20 cocaine debt. In the immediate aftermath, without a phone to call for help, he drove back to his home in Lincoln Park, where his mother called 911. Jennifer was rushed to a hospital, but her injury was catastrophic. She passed away on the night of Friday, September 8, 2017.

The investigation by the Detroit Police Department quickly identified a suspect. The day Jennifer died, police located the man they believed was responsible for her shooting, leading to a dramatic and widely publicized vehicle chase through the streets of southwest Detroit. The suspect, driving a charcoal gray SUV, led officers on a 45-minute pursuit that weaved on and off the I-75 freeway. With news helicopters broadcasting the events live, Jennifer’s partner Derek watched it all unfold on Facebook. The chase ended after the SUV’s tire was flattened. The driver pulled over, jumped the median, and ran into oncoming traffic. He attempted to hurdle an approaching minivan but fell onto the hood, then climbed onto its roof, where he was tackled by officers and taken into custody.

The man arrested was 24-year-old Derron Deshawn Sherard. He was on parole at the time, having been released from prison just two months earlier. Following his capture, Sherard was charged with fleeing and eluding, resisting arrest, and possession of heroin, cocaine, and marijuana. Derek Odell expressed his relief at seeing the man he believed killed Jennifer in handcuffs, saying, “It felt good. I slept that night.” He hoped that murder charges would soon follow.

In October 2017, Derron Sherard pleaded guilty to the charges of third-degree fleeing, resisting arrest, and three counts of possession of a controlled substance. On November 3, 2017, he was sentenced to a term of 12 months to 20 years in prison.

Despite being publicly identified by police as the suspect in Jennifer Paul’s fatal shooting, news reports from the time of his sentencing confirmed that Sherard had not been charged in connection with her murder. The Wayne County Prosecutor's Office did not file homicide charges against him, and the court proceedings only addressed the crimes related to the police chase.

In the years since, the public record does not indicate that murder charges were ever filed against Sherard or anyone else for Jennifer’s death. While the man suspected of ending her life was imprisoned for other crimes, the homicide case itself appears to remain unresolved. For her family, the pain is compounded by the lack of formal justice. Derek Odell was left to raise their son alone, holding on to the memory of the woman he loved. “It’s tough but having him has made it a lot easier to deal with," he said. "I can’t think of anything but him.” A GoFundMe account was created to help support Derek and Kaleb after their loss. As of the latest reports from November 2017, the investigation into Jennifer Paul's murder was ongoing.