Verdell Goins, 52, was shot and killed on November 7, 2021, in Miami Gardens, Florida. Goins and his girlfriend, Atoya Holmes, 48, had attended a Miami Dolphins game and visited a friend’s house before the couple argued in their car. The argument turned physical; Holmes said Goins began hitting her and she then shot him multiple times. Goins was found in the driver’s seat of a Jaguar with multiple gunshot wounds and was pronounced dead at the scene. A handgun was recovered on the car’s roof.

Holmes was arrested and charged with second-degree murder and held without bond. At trial she testified she acted in self-defense, saying Goins had repeatedly beaten her during their relationship; prosecutors contended jealousy and rage over an alleged other girlfriend motivated the shooting. The defense also raised concerns that jurors saw a video of Holmes in handcuffs. A key question in the case is how the evidence supports self-defense versus a different intent; readers who knew Verdell or have information about the relationship or the night of November 7, 2021, are asked to come forward.