In the early hours of Sunday, September 24, 2017, a life full of promise was tragically cut short in Mount Vernon, Georgia. Stevenson Derival, a 20-year-old male student-athlete at Brewton-Parker College, was shot and killed at an off-campus house party. Originally from Decatur, Georgia, and of Haitian descent, Derival was a junior majoring in criminal justice with aspirations of making his family proud.
He was a graduate of Towers High School, where he excelled in wrestling and track and field, a passion he continued to pursue at the college level.
The party, attended by approximately 200 people, descended into chaos when gunshots were fired, causing a mass exodus from the scene. In the confusion, Derival was struck by multiple bullets and another individual was injured. Despite the number of witnesses, the shooter managed to escape. The Mount Vernon Police, in conjunction with the Montgomery County Sheriff's Office and the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, launched a homicide investigation into Derival's death.
The investigation led to the identification of two suspects, brothers Khalif and Khalil Wagner. In early October 2017, Khalif Wagner, then 19, surrendered to authorities and was charged with murder and aggravated assault. At that time, his brother, Khalil Wagner, remained at large, with law enforcement seeking the public's assistance in locating him. The college community and Derival's family were left heartbroken, remembering him as a well-liked individual with a perpetually positive spirit who was the first in his family to attend college.
