Cody Manood Bouphavong, a 21-year-old male from Hickory, North Carolina, tragically lost his life on April 7, 2017. Cody was born on February 28, 1996, in Catawba County, and was the son of Tom Bouphavong and Ratana Bouphavong. He graduated from Bunker Hill High School in 2014 and attended CVCC. Cody had a passion for landscaping and worked for Timberland Landscaping. His smile was contagious, and his personality was one of a kind. Cody enjoyed helping others and making everyone laugh.
Most importantly, he loved spending time with family and friends.
On the morning of April 7, 2017, Cody Bouphavong was found lying in the parking lot of McCroskey’s Irish Pub and Grill in Hickory, suffering from a gunshot wound. Witnesses reported that Cody and his friends were inside a Honda Accord when they were shot at by two men who left the scene in a Ford Fusion. The suspects, Greydon Keith Hansen and Dontray Tyrell Cumberlander, both 28 years old, were later apprehended by the Long View Police Department. They were found with weapons in their vehicle and admitted to driving around the parking lot of the pub and firing their weapons at and inside the Accord with the victims in it.
The investigation revealed that Hansen and Cumberlander had fired multiple shots into the vehicle, resulting in the deaths of Cody Bouphavong, Quajuae Alexus Kennedy, and Justin Michael Aiken, all 21 years old. A fourth victim, 20-year-old Cole Brady Ervin, was also shot and injured during the attack. The suspects were charged with three counts of second-degree murder, one count of assault with a deadly weapon inflicting serious injury, and one count of discharging a weapon into an occupied vehicle.
In August 2021, Hansen and Cumberlander were sentenced to prison terms of 64 to 82 years each for their roles in the April 2017 deaths. During the emotional hearings, the court acknowledged the senselessness of the killings and the profound impact on the victims' families. The sentences were intended to provide some measure of closure to the families and ensure that the community would be protected from further violent acts by the defendants.
Cody Bouphavong's death was a tragic loss for his family, friends, and the community. His memory lives on through the love and support of those who knew him, and his legacy serves as a reminder of the importance of cherishing every moment with loved ones.
