Kenny Mister, a 31-year-old man from Fresno, California, tragically lost his life on October 27, 2020, in Chester, Pennsylvania. Mister was in Chester working as part of a team hired by a Pittsburgh firm to register people to vote for the 2020 election. The incident occurred in the parking lot of the Days Inn at 1300 Providence Avenue around 7:58 p.m.
Mister was found suffering from multiple gunshot wounds and was rushed to Crozer-Chester Medical Center, where he succumbed to his injuries.
The suspect in Kenny Mister's murder is Nathaniel Thurmond-Willis, a 25-year-old man from Pittsburgh. Thurmond-Willis turned himself in to Pittsburgh police in January 2021 and has been held without bail since then. He was charged with first- and third-degree murder, attempted murder, aggravated assault, and weapons offenses. The investigation revealed that Thurmond-Willis and Mister had a dispute over pay for their work, which escalated into a confrontation in the parking lot. Surveillance video showed Thurmond-Willis pulling out a gun and firing at Mister as he attempted to flee.
In October 2022, Thurmond-Willis was sentenced to seven to 14 years in state prison with six years of consecutive probation on third-degree murder and aggravated assault charges. Judge Richard Cappelli remarked that it was “the craziest murder case I’ve ever had”. The weapon used in the shooting, a .32 caliber Beretta handgun, was forensically matched to bullets and spent shell casings found at the scene, and DNA on the sweatshirt worn by Thurmond-Willis was also matched to him.
The case drew significant attention due to the circumstances surrounding Mister's death and the subsequent legal proceedings. Thurmond-Willis's guilty pleas and the sentencing brought some closure to the tragic event, but the loss of Kenny Mister remains a somber reminder of the violence that can erupt from disputes over seemingly mundane matters.
