In the summer of 2017, Osmani Munongerwa, a 20-year-old Black man, and his mother, Isha Musa, 37, were living in Nashville, Tennessee. The mother and son, who were of Somali descent, shared an apartment in the city’s Edgehill neighborhood.
On the morning of Sunday, July 23, 2017, both were shot and killed inside their home at the Park at Hillside apartment complex on Hillside Avenue. Neighbors later told police they heard noises that could have been gunshots between 9 a.m. and 10 a.m. The crime was discovered that afternoon around 1:40 p.m., when a concerned family member went to check on the family. Upon opening the door, the relative found Ms. Musa’s body on the lower level of the apartment. Responding authorities then discovered Mr. Munongerwa deceased in an upstairs area.
In the initial stages of the investigation, police noted that in the days before his death, Mr.
Munongerwa had posted photos and a video on his Facebook profile showing him with a large amount of cash. Investigators publicly stated that robbery was being considered as a possible motive for the double homicide. For three years, however, the case remained without any named suspects, leaving family members waiting for answers.
A major development came in July 2020, just before the three-year anniversary of the killings. The Metro Nashville Police Department announced that a grand jury had indicted three people in connection with the murders. Kendre Shields, then 23, Albert Mustapha, 22, and Chasitie Smith, 25, were each indicted on two counts of first-degree murder, aggravated burglary, and especially aggravated robbery.
At the time of the indictments, both Shields and Mustapha were already incarcerated on separate, unrelated murder charges. Authorities announced that Chasitie Smith remained at large and that detectives were working to locate her. As of July 2020, the case against the three suspects was moving forward. Anyone with information is asked to call Metro Police at 615-742-7463.
