Zackary Smith was a 31-year-old guitarist for Denver band Autonomix, described by a bandmate as creating nothing short of magic with their ethereal dancetronica. Hours after writing music with a bandmate, Smith was driving his SUV in an alley in Denver’s East Colfax neighborhood in the pre-dawn hours of September 10, 2020, when a single bullet struck the rear of his vehicle and hit him in the head. His SUV rolled and crashed; he was taken to a hospital and died later that day.

Investigators recovered a spent 9mm cartridge casing at the scene and canvassed the neighborhood. A nearby resident, Patrick Lee Apostol, answered officers while wearing a black robe that later tested positive for gunshot residue. The investigation stalled for more than three years before a community tip in 2023 refocused attention on Apostol; investigators said a motive involved Smith’s relationship with Apostol’s then-girlfriend and that Apostol deleted text messages from the period after the shooting. In November 2023 police arrested Apostol on suspicion of first-degree murder and tampering with evidence.