Kenny Ray Morgan

On the afternoon of Sunday, April 30, 2023, police in Killeen, Texas, responded to a call about a gunshot heard inside a home. When they arrived at the residence in the 1700 block of Old FM 440, they found Kenny Ray Morgan, a 42-year-old Black man, unresponsive. He was pronounced dead at the scene at 4:24 p.m.

Investigators determined that Morgan had been fatally shot in the head. He was found on a couch in his living room, and while a 9-mm bullet casing was discovered nearby, there was no weapon at the scene and no signs of a struggle. Morgan’s death was recorded as the third homicide in the city of Killeen for 2023. An upstairs neighbor told police they had heard the gunshot and then saw a man leaving the area in a light-colored Hyundai.

The investigation quickly focused on surveillance footage from a daycare across the street. The video showed a Hyundai Sonata parked in front of Morgan’s apartment around 3:08 p.m. The driver and a man believed to be Morgan were seen sitting in the car together before both went inside the apartment. Sometime later, the driver was seen exiting the residence alone and starting to drive away. He then stopped, ran back inside the apartment for a few seconds while holding an object, and then ran back to his car and sped away from the scene.

A member of Morgan’s family identified the vehicle in the video as belonging to the victim’s cousin, Lewis Carl Hunt. When police went to the address provided, they found a car that matched the one in the footage. They also encountered a man who identified himself as Hunt and was wearing the exact same clothing as the driver seen in the surveillance video. Hunt was taken into custody that same day. A subsequent search of his home and vehicle uncovered 9-mm ammunition that matched the casing found at the crime scene and a pistol magazine that was missing one bullet.

Lewis Carl Hunt, then 41, was arrested on the day of the shooting. On May 3, 2023, he was arraigned on a murder charge, and his bond was set at $100,000. A Bell County grand jury indicted Hunt for the murder of his cousin on July 27, 2023. Following a trial, Hunt was convicted of murder on February 17, 2024. As of June 2024, the case is considered closed with the conviction of the perpetrator.