In the late hours of Friday, November 15, 2024, what should have been a celebration of a milestone birthday turned into a tragedy for 21-year-old Maxwell Rodgers, a White male, who was shot and killed in Salt Lake City, Utah. The incident occurred just before midnight near 800 South Park Street, outside of his apartment complex. Friends and family were just beginning to celebrate his 21st birthday, which had been that very day.
Maxwell, a junior at the University of Utah studying Game
Development, was known for his creative and passionate nature. He had a wide array of interests that ranged from making music and playing video games to skateboarding and boxing. His love for animals was well-known; he owned a cat and a dog and would often visit the local humane society to spend time with the cats. He was a leader in the Game Craft club at his university and was remembered by those who knew him as a caring, compassionate, and dependable friend. He was described as patient, selfless, and gentle, with an infectious humor and smile.
The investigation into Maxwell's death quickly identified a suspect, 53-year-old Charlie Andrew Warre Poulsen, who was Rodgers' neighbor in the same apartment complex. According to police, there had been an ongoing dispute between the two men. This conflict had previously escalated to a point where Poulsen was charged with property damage in July for breaking Rodgers' window air conditioning unit. An arrest warrant had been issued for Poulsen in August after he failed to appear in court for that charge.
On the night of the shooting, after killing Rodgers, Poulsen returned to his own apartment. A SWAT team and crisis negotiators were dispatched to the scene and attempted to make contact with him for several hours. When authorities finally made entry into the apartment, they found Poulsen deceased from a self-inflicted gunshot wound. The Salt Lake City Police Department is investigating the case as a murder-suicide, with Poulsen as the sole suspect in Rodgers' death. As the investigation is ongoing, no further suspects are being sought, and no arrests have been made in direct connection to the homicide of Maxwell Rodgers.
