In the late hours of a Sunday evening in Murfreesboro, Tennessee, the life of Javarius Malone, a 32-year-old man, was tragically cut short. On September 27, 2020, police responded to a call on Gunnerson Avenue just before 11:30 p.m. to find Malone with a single gunshot wound to his chest. He was rushed to Ascension Saint Thomas Rutherford Hospital, where he was pronounced deceased.
Known affectionately as 'Vari,' Malone was a graduate of Smyrna High School, where he had played football, and was a father to four boys.
The initial investigation into the homicide began without immediate suspects, but Murfreesboro Police Department detectives diligently worked the case. Their efforts soon focused on two teenagers. Less than a week after the shooting, on October 3, 2020, authorities made two arrests. Eighteen-year-old Corey Lillard, Jr. was discovered by officers hiding in a closet of a home on Center Pointe Drive and taken into custody. On the same day, a 17-year-old male juvenile was detained as he was walking along Old Lascassas Road. Both were subsequently charged with first-degree murder.
As the legal process unfolded, the motive behind the senseless act of violence was revealed to be a mere $50 debt. The investigation, aided by cellphone GPS data, witness statements, and security camera footage, also implicated another individual, Gregory Lyons. The case proceeded through the judicial system, leading to significant convictions. Gregory Lyons was ultimately sentenced to life in prison for his role in the first-degree murder of Malone. In November 2023, Corey Lillard, Jr., then 21, entered guilty pleas before a judge, bringing a close to the years-long case and securing a measure of justice for Javarius Malone and his grieving family.
