Jared Auer

Jared Auer, a 30-year-old White man from Lake Worth, Florida, was described by his family as someone who faced life with resilience and remained deeply devoted to the people he loved. Born in Boynton Beach, he was a playful and caring uncle who held dreams for a better future. His family remembered his passing as a "senseless act of violence."

In the pre-dawn hours of Father’s Day, June 15, 2025, West Palm Beach police responded to a 911 call about a man passed out in his car on the 1200 block of Old Okeechobee Road. Officers arrived shortly before 4 a.m. to find Jared Auer in the driver's seat with a gunshot wound to his head. He was rushed to St. Mary's Medical Center, where he died from his injuries the following day.

The investigation was significantly aided by a dash camera in Auer’s vehicle. The footage showed that Auer had parked his car at 3:33 a.m. when three men approached and began a conversation with him. One of the men opened the driver's side door, and a struggle began. As Auer attempted to reverse his car to escape, one of the men shot him. After the shooting, Auer's car collided with a parked vehicle, and the three suspects fled on foot toward the nearby Hideaway nightclub. Surveillance video and witnesses from the club saw one of the men place a handgun into a storage compartment on his motorcycle before driving away.

Investigators identified one of the suspects as William Andre Dunkley of Loxahatchee. On July 2, 2025, police executed a search warrant at his home and recovered a handgun. A spent .40 caliber shell casing found at the crime scene was a match to the weapon. On August 8, 2025, police arrested Dunkley, then 42, and charged him with first-degree murder and attempted armed robbery.

The investigation continued, using DNA evidence recovered from a door handle on Auer’s car and a hat found at the scene. In March 2026, police arrested a second suspect, 44-year-old Donovan Woodbine of Port St. Lucie, charging him with felony murder and attempted armed robbery. According to his arrest report, DNA evidence and a statement from the third, unidentified suspect placed Woodbine at the scene. William Dunkley has pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder with a firearm and attempted armed robbery. As of March 2026, both he and Woodbine were awaiting trial.