In the early morning hours of July 7, 2025, the life of 26-year-old Sontia R. Simmons was tragically cut short in a violent act that also claimed the life of her friend, 22-year-old Amia N. Cox. The two women were found shot to death inside a home in the 3200 block of Kingswood Way in Shively, a suburb of Louisville, Kentucky. What initially sounded like fireworks to a neighbor around 1:30 a.m.
turned out to be the gunshots that ended two young lives.
Shively Police quickly identified 35-year-old Labradford Ward as the suspect in the double homicide. Investigators described the killings as a targeted attack, not a random act of violence. An arrest warrant was issued for Ward on charges of murder, domestic violence murder, and possession of a handgun by a convicted felon. It was revealed that Ward had a history of domestic violence, having pleaded guilty in 2023 to second-degree strangulation, fourth-degree domestic violence assault, and violating a protective order, for which he received five years of probation but no jail time.
Following the murders, a search for Ward ensued, with police asking for the public's help in locating him and warning that he should be considered dangerous. A reward was offered for information leading to his arrest. The search came to an end on July 13, 2025, when Labradford Ward was found dead from a self-inflicted gunshot wound near a cemetery in Louisville.
