Walter Metz Jr., a 67-year-old man from Cincinnati, was known to friends as a smart man and a good family man. One friend considered him a big brother. Shortly before his death, another friend recalled speaking with Metz, who seemed distraught and said, “them boys on me, man.” On his memorial page, loved ones remembered him with nicknames like "speedy" and "pawpa," writing, "gone but a legend is never forgot."
On the afternoon of Thursday, June 30, 2022, a woman walking near the Hook Fish and Chicken restaurant on Linn Street in the West End heard four gunshots. Around 12:30 p.m., she went to check an adjacent alley, Keywitt Alley, and discovered Walter Metz Jr. lying on the ground. First responders arrived, but Metz was pronounced dead at the scene from gunshot wounds.
Witnesses told Cincinnati police they saw a person run from the alley and into a nearby house on Dayton Street.
The report triggered a major police response, and a SWAT team surrounded the residence for several hours, closing down the street and evacuating the building. After a lengthy standoff, officers determined that the person the witness had seen was not inside the home. Later that evening, however, investigators with the Homicide Unit tracked down and arrested 36-year-old Darnell Nelson.
Nelson was charged with murder. During his first court appearance the following day, a prosecutor told the judge that Nelson had admitted his involvement in the killing, but Nelson’s defense attorney denied the charges. The prosecutor argued for a high bond, noting that Nelson was on parole for a federal gun possession charge and had an extensive criminal history that included nine prior state felony convictions for offenses including robbery. The judge set Nelson's bond at $1 million.
As of July 2022, the case against Darnell Nelson was proceeding in court. At the time of his arrest, police were also looking into whether Metz's death was connected to another fatal shooting that had occurred in the West End just 12 hours earlier, though Nelson was only charged in the murder of Walter Metz Jr.
