In the early morning hours of July 5, 2017, a party on Forrer Street in Detroit turned deadly, leaving Robert Oakes, a male, fatally wounded. The festive gathering descended into chaos when a fight broke out. An unidentified witness later recounted to police that a man named Keevon Black-Burton was involved in a physical altercation, allegedly striking another man while holding a gun.
According to the witness, they ran out of the house to get Robert Oakes, who then went into the residence. Shortly after, the sound of gunfire erupted. When police arrived, they found that Oakes had been fatally shot. Two other individuals, Keenan Black-Burton, Keevon's brother, and Jessica Abdal, Keevon's girlfriend, also sustained non-fatal gunshot wounds. Investigators at the scene recovered casings from two different firearms, indicating that more than one weapon was discharged during the incident.
As part of their investigation into the homicide, officers from the Detroit Police Homicide Task Force and the Michigan State Police Major Case Unit executed a search warrant at a residence on Forrer Street later that day. During the subsequent investigation, a man named Brandon Devon Jackson, who had also been at the party, was questioned. He told authorities that he had left before the shooting occurred and only learned of it through phone calls.
Despite the initial investigation and the identification of individuals present at the party, the case of Robert Oakes's death has grown cold. There have been no public announcements of any arrests or charges directly related to his murder. The circumstances surrounding his death point to a chaotic and violent end to what began as a social gathering, leaving a family to mourn and a community with unanswered questions about who was responsible for the death of Robert Oakes. The case remains an unsolved homicide.
