Derek Abernathy, a 55-year-old male, was found shot to death at a home in the 200 block of Bull Durham Road in Wills Point, Texas. Police were called on Sunday evening, and by early morning a timeline had formed around a quiet neighborhood suddenly crowded with crime-scene tape and investigators. Though some local outlets rendered his first name as “Derrick,” memorial and police-linked reporting centered on the same 55-year-old man discovered with multiple gunshot wounds inside the
residence; community tributes marked his loss as occurring on September 29, 2025.
Detectives from the Wills Point Police Department questioned a juvenile during the overnight hours. Around 3:50 a.m., according to Police Chief Aaron Long, the minor confessed during an interview to “committing the homicide by multiple gunshot wounds” to Abernathy. The youth was taken into custody and transported to a juvenile detention center in Van Zandt County. Authorities noted that any possible motive would not be released out of respect for the family as the investigation continues.
Texas Rangers joined the case alongside the Van Zandt County District Attorney's Office, and local outlets reported that the juvenile suspect—whose name has not been made public because of age—was charged with murder following the confession. No additional arrests were announced in the immediate aftermath, and investigators did not disclose further details about the circumstances inside the home that night. In the days that followed, regional and memorial sites recorded Abernathy's death, underscoring both the official charge against the juvenile and the lingering absence of a stated motive.
