Migna Elizabeth Kennebrew, a 46-year-old White woman from Kent, Washington, was killed on the evening of July 14, 2025, during a double shooting at the Kentwood Apartments in the 22400 block of Benson Road SE. Kent police were dispatched at about 8:37 p.m. after witnesses reported hearing an argument followed by gunfire and seeing a man lying outside the apartment complex. Officers found Gary Lee Winston outside suffering from gunshot wounds and pronounced him dead at the scene.
After securing the area, police entered an apartment connected to the incident and discovered Kennebrew inside, also fatally wounded. No one else was found inside the residence.
The King County Medical Examiner’s Office later determined that Kennebrew died from a gunshot wound to the neck and classified her death as a homicide. Winston, who was 34, died from multiple gunshot wounds, and his death was also ruled a homicide. Investigators subsequently obtained surveillance footage that prosecutors say captured important portions of the attack. According to later reporting based on the criminal case, the footage showed a man approaching the apartment and kicking the door several times to force his way inside. Winston came out and struggled with the intruder on the walkway before shots were fired. The gunman then entered the apartment, went toward the bedroom where Kennebrew was located, and a scream followed by another gunshot was captured on the surveillance recording.
Police quickly focused their investigation on Alphonzo Kelly, a Kent man known to some residents by the nickname “Slim.” Investigators said a witness reported that Kelly and Winston had previously lived at another Kent apartment complex and that Kelly had become angry with Winston because he believed Winston was involved with his girlfriend. Authorities also relied on surveillance footage, witness information and evidence obtained during a search of Kelly’s residence. Investigators reported finding clothing that was consistent with what the suspected gunman could be seen wearing on video, including a black bucket hat, dark clothing and black Jordan shoes with red accents. Surveillance footage was also reported to show Kelly leaving his apartment, going toward the victims’ apartment and returning roughly 15 minutes later, after which he changed clothing.
Two days after the killings, on July 16, 2025, Kent police arrested Kelly in the Seattle area with assistance from the Snohomish County U.S. Marshals Task Force. Police initially booked him into the King County Jail on unrelated charges while homicide detectives completed their investigation and prepared the case for prosecutors. Authorities described him at the time as having an extensive criminal history.
The investigation into Kennebrew and Winston’s deaths became part of a broader criminal case involving several alleged acts of violence at the apartment complex. Prosecutors accused Kelly of attacking another resident with a hammer days before the homicides and of participating in the beating and restraint of another man. Prosecutors alleged that Kelly and another man, Alexander Wilder, punched and kicked that victim, restrained him with an electrical cord and assaulted him for an extended period, leaving him with serious internal injuries that required emergency surgery. These incidents were cited by prosecutors as part of a series of violent confrontations surrounding the complex before the fatal shootings.
On August 1, 2025, the King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office filed charges against Kelly that included two counts of first-degree murder for the deaths of Kennebrew and Winston. He was also charged with second-degree assault, first-degree unlawful possession of a firearm and unlawful imprisonment in connection with the other alleged incidents. Prosecutors said his prior felony record legally prohibited him from possessing a firearm. Kelly pleaded not guilty to the charges on August 14, 2025, at the Maleng Regional Justice Center in Kent, and he was ordered held without bail.
The murder prosecution, King County Superior Court case 25-1-06805-2, was later joined for trial with a separate assault case against Kelly. Court scheduling records during 2026 continued to list the primary homicide charge as first-degree premeditated murder and anticipated a lengthy trial. As of the most recent court-related reporting located, dated June 29, 2026, no plea agreement or trial verdict in the Kennebrew and Winston murder case had been reported, meaning Kelly remained accused rather than convicted of their killings at that point.
In the aftermath of Kennebrew’s death, her children organized a fundraiser to help cover funeral, cremation and memorial expenses. They described the killing as an unexpected act of violence that had left the family struggling to process the loss of their mother. The fundraiser was organized by Oliveo Smith and Unique Kennebrew on behalf of their siblings, reflecting the family left behind after the July 2025 homicide.
