Detective: Shooters knew kids were in car prior to homicides
A Columbus police detective said Tuesday that the shooters involved in the triple homicide of a young man and two children planned the attack and knew the children were in the vehicle before they opened fire.
"The shooters in this case absolutely knew those children were in the car," said detective Terry Kelley, the lead homicide investigator in the fatal shootings.
Kelley said that a black Nissan Altima, believed to be between model years 2010 and 2012, was seen on video footage around the Winchester Lakes apartment complex prior to the fatal shootings on Dec. 7.
The vehicle involved did not have a license plate on it, Kelley said, indicating the attack was pre-planned and that the shooters had done reconnaissance or surveillance of the apartment prior to the shooting. He said there is no indication at this point the vehicle was stolen.
Detectives have said they believe there were two shooters on the scene on the night of Dec. 7, and dozens of bullets were fired in what was called a "targeted assassination."
Demetrius Wall'neal, a 9-year-old fourth-grader, and his sister, 6-year-old kindergartner Londynn Wall'neal, were found in the back seat of a sedan in the complex's parking lot, located on the city's Southeast Side.
Their mother's boyfriend, 22-yearold Charles Wade, was found in the front driver's seat of the car. All three victims were pronounced dead at the scene.
Jessica Jones, the children's maternal grandmother, told The Dispatch last week that the three were preparing to drive to meet the children's mother at a Buffalo Wild Wings when they shot inside a car in the parking lot. The grief from the fatal shootings, she said, was too much for the family to bear.
Now, detectives are hoping two photographs of the Nissan Altima will help someone further the investigation and bring the killers to justice. Detectives say the vehicle is black and that one photograph where it appears maroon in color is only because of the light.
"The police and community distrust in the past, we can start right here to change everything and if we do that as a community, those two children and Mr. Wade didn't die for nothing, they died to change this community," Kelley said, urging people to come forward with information.
Central Ohio Crime Stoppers is offering a cash reward for information leading to an arrest in the case.
Kelley said he is looking for specific information about who was at the scene on Dec. 7 to help identify the shooters and charge them in the case.
"With the children, in all intents and purposes, being targets of this, I would hope that our community would band together and say this is not okay," Kelley said. "I would hope someone would come forward and say we will not allow this violence to happen to these kids."
Kelley said detectives have developed information about what they believe was the motivation behind the shooting, but still need the first-hand witness information from someone who was there or who has been told about it.
"There is a person sitting at home right now ... who absolutely 100% knows who the shooter is and it's because they were the driver of the car, they were in the same group of people, a girlfriend, a mother, a grandmother," Kelley said. "I need firsthand information of the people who were at the scene. That's always going to go farther than the technology, the different avenues of theories we have."
Kelley said he knows people are scared to come forward with information and can be treated as confidential sources.
Anyone with information is asked to call Kelley directly at 614-778-9706, homicide detectives at 614-645-4730 or Central Ohio Crime Stoppers at 614461-TIPS. bbruner@dispatch.com @bethany_bruner