A night of celebration took a tragic turn for 32-year-old Mitchell Mormon Jr. in the early morning hours of Saturday, November 12, 2016. Mormon, a father of three, was out on a first date with Shaunita Walker in the vibrant Edgewood Avenue area of Atlanta, celebrating a new job. The evening, however, ended in a senseless act of violence that claimed his life and left Walker wounded.
The couple was outside the Church bar at around 3 a.m. when an argument erupted with two men.
According to Walker, one of the men made a disrespectful comment to her. When Mormon confronted him, the situation escalated. During the verbal altercation, Mormon jokingly told one of the men that he had voted for Donald Trump and that the man would be gone next week. While Walker later stated she did not believe this comment was the motive, the argument continued. Shortly after, one of the men retrieved a gun and opened fire. Mormon was shot and collapsed to the ground, and Walker was struck in the arm. Walker emotionally recounted her attempts to comfort a dying Mormon, urging him to breathe.
In the days following the shooting, the Atlanta Police Department released surveillance footage of two persons of interest. The investigation quickly led to the identification of two suspects. The first, whose name was not publicly released, turned himself in to the authorities on November 16, 2016. The second suspect, identified as Nigel Whitehead, surrendered to the Fulton County Jail on November 28, 2016. Both men were subsequently charged with murder and aggravated assault. Their identification was aided by victims of previous robberies who recognized the men from the released surveillance video.
Following their arrests, both suspects faced the judicial process. While details of the legal proceedings for the unnamed suspect are not widely available, Nigel Whitehead was prosecuted for his involvement in the death of Mitchell Mormon Jr. The outcome of these proceedings brought a measure of closure to a case that began with a celebratory evening and ended in a devastating loss.
