In the autumn of 2015, a dispute over rent in a Savannah, Georgia home escalated into a tragic and fatal encounter. On the morning of October 22, police were dispatched to a residence on Lynah Street in Carver Village for a wellness check after a neighbor noticed the front door was ajar. Inside, they discovered a gruesome scene: the bodies of 18-year-old Black / African American female Kiana Marshall, her 21-year-old brother Corey Marshall, and their 19-year-old roommate, Alexis Kitchens.
All three had been shot multiple times.
The investigation into the triple homicide quickly uncovered a disagreement between Kiana and two recent roommates, Diamond Butler and Jamaica Bell. The two had failed to pay their share of the rent, and Kiana had asked them to leave the residence. In the hours leading up to the murders, Kiana had spoken to her mother, Regina Marshall, informing her of the intent to have the non-paying roommates removed. This would be their last conversation. The investigation revealed that after being forced to move out, an angered Diamond Butler, then 18, enlisted the help of 22-year-old James Angelo Hampton and 18-year-old Dwayne Leonard Abney.
In December 2015, authorities announced the arrests of Hampton, Abney, and Butler in connection with the killings. The subsequent legal proceedings brought the harrowing details of the crime to light. Diamond Butler, who had agreed to a plea deal in exchange for her testimony, revealed that she had asked Hampton to "shoot the house up." While she maintained she did not ask for anyone to be killed, she admitted to being present when the plan was discussed. On the night of the murders, Hampton and Abney went to the Lynah Street house under the guise of retrieving Butler's belongings. Once inside, they carried out the fatal shootings. Testimony indicated that Hampton was the primary shooter, armed with a 9mm handgun, while Abney was also present with a. 380 weapon.
The trial, which took place in December 2017, resulted in the convictions of both James Angelo Hampton and Dwayne Leonard Abney. They were found guilty on multiple counts, including malice murder and felony murder. Hampton was sentenced to three consecutive life sentences without the possibility of parole, plus an additional 35 years. Abney received two consecutive life sentences without the possibility of parole, plus an additional 15 years. For her role in the triple homicide, Diamond Butler was sentenced to 90 years in prison. The sentencings brought a measure of closure to the families of the victims, though the community was left to grapple with the senseless loss of three young lives over a dispute about rent.
