Kaseem Devon-Zinebalist Peterson, a 27-year-old Black male, was tragically killed on June 30, 2019, in Burlington, North Carolina. The incident occurred at approximately 8:07 p.m. at an apartment located at 15 Perry Circle. Alongside Peterson, two other victims, Tyrone Brandon Nelson Jr., an 18-year-old Black male, and Jason Deangelo Williams, a 26-year-old Black male, were also found dead at the scene.
All three men had suffered fatal gunshot wounds.
The investigation revealed that the shooter was known to at least one of the victims and had been present in the apartment earlier that day. Witnesses provided descriptions of the shooter and the direction in which he fled. Hyquan Johan Parker, a 26-year-old Black male from Durham, North Carolina, was arrested the following day and charged with three counts of first-degree murder and one count of parole violation. Parker was previously convicted of second-degree murder in 2009.
The trial for Parker began in October 2024, and he was ultimately convicted of the triple homicide. The jury, which included one Black female, unanimously found Parker guilty of three counts of first-degree murder and one count of felony possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. During the sentencing phase, the jury recommended life in prison without the possibility of parole, rather than the death penalty. Parker's defense attorneys argued that he suffered from a neurodevelopmental disorder and had grown up in a dysfunctional, single-parent home in east Durham, where he was exposed to gang violence from an early age.
The case marked the deadliest investigation in Burlington in at least 15 years. The Burlington Police Department continues to encourage anyone with additional information to come forward.
