In the pre-dawn hours of a March morning in Norcross, Georgia, the lives of a family recently relocated in pursuit of a dream were irrevocably shattered. Billy Roy Thurman, a 25-year-old African American male, had moved to the area from Indiana with his younger brother, 17-year-old William Thurman, hoping to make their mark on the hip-hop music scene. On March 21, 2019, their aspirations were cut short in an act of sudden and brutal violence. The brothers were visiting a relative at The Park at Peachtree Apartments on Peachtree Corners Circle, using the complex's laundry room in the early hours.
Accompanying them was their 27-year-old cousin, Beonka Thurman. The quiet routine of washing clothes was abruptly ended around 4 a.m. when a suspect entered the laundry facility and opened fire. Billy Roy and William were both fatally wounded and pronounced dead at the scene from apparent gunshot wounds. In the midst of the attack, Beonka was shot in the foot. Despite her injury, she managed to escape the laundry room and call 911 for help, an act of resilience in the face of terror. First responders arrived to a tragic scene, with the two brothers deceased and their cousin wounded but alive.
The Gwinnett County Police Department launched an immediate investigation into the double homicide. Detectives determined that there was likely only one shooter and that there had not been an exchange of gunfire. However, the motive for the shooting remained elusive, leaving both the family and investigators searching for answers. The brothers' family was left devastated, describing the killings as a type of execution that had shaken them to their core. As of early 2020, the case was still considered one of Gwinnett County's unsolved homicides from the previous year. Authorities have not publicly identified any suspects, and no arrests have been made in connection with the deaths of Billy Roy and William Thurman. The investigation remains ongoing as police continue to seek information from the public to bring a resolution to the case and provide justice for the family.
