Ashley Bell

Ashley Bell was known to her family as "the life of the party." The 32-year-old Black woman from Indianapolis, who also went by the last name Davis, "kept a smile, loved her children and her family."

Her life was cut short on the afternoon of January 12, 2021, a day marked by several homicides in the city. Around 2:35 p.m., officers with the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department responded to a report of a person shot at a home in the 3900 block of Boulevard Place. They found Ashley suffering from what an autopsy later determined were at least three gunshot wounds. Paramedics rushed her to a hospital in critical condition, but she died from her injuries.

The investigation quickly pointed to a case of domestic violence. Suspicion fell on Ashley's husband, 35-year-old Carl E. Davis. Police records indicated that he had shot his wife during an argument. The couple had a history of domestic violence; just two months prior, in November 2020, Davis had been charged with domestic battery and intimidation after an incident in which he allegedly bit his wife on the arm.

A few days after the shooting, police arrested Carl Davis. He was formally charged with two counts of murder, unlawful possession of a firearm by a serious violent felon, and pointing a firearm at another.

The case concluded over two years later. In February 2023, Davis accepted a plea agreement and pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter with a habitual sentencing enhancement. In exchange for his plea, the other charges were dismissed. On March 14, 2023, Carl Davis was sentenced to 42 years in prison for killing his wife.