On a Tuesday afternoon in Indianapolis, the life of 27-year-old male, Carl Edward Stevenson IV, was tragically cut short. The incident unfolded around noon on November 11, 2025, in the 3700 block of Fletcher Avenue on the city's near east side. Responding to a report of a person shot, police officers discovered Stevenson on a front porch with gunshot wounds. He was rushed to a local hospital in critical condition but was later pronounced dead.
His identity was confirmed by the Marion County Coroner's Office.
At the scene, police encountered a 22-year-old woman named Jaynia Beans standing near Stevenson's body. She was detained without incident and initially claimed that Stevenson had been banging on her door with a gun. Beans alleged that the firearm discharged as she attempted to take it from him. A witness also reported hearing a gunshot and stated that Beans had come to their door claiming Stevenson had attacked her and she had shot him in response. However, this narrative was soon contradicted by surveillance footage that provided a starkly different account of the events.
The video evidence obtained by detectives showed Beans opening the door and shooting Stevenson as he was bent over a bag on the porch. According to court documents, the footage did not depict a struggle, nor was a gun visible in Stevenson's possession at any point. Investigators did not find a firearm on or near his body. Based on this evidence, Jaynia Beans was arrested on a preliminary charge of murder, and the Marion County Prosecutor's Office later formally charged her with murder.
In the wake of this tragedy, Stevenson's mother, LaTasha Stevenson, has spoken out about her son's turbulent four-year relationship with Beans, believing him to have been a victim of domestic violence. She recounted that the couple had a physical altercation on the morning of the shooting, after which her son left. He had only returned to the residence to retrieve some of his belongings when the fatal shooting occurred. His family remembers him as a quiet and mild-mannered man who was a father to a young daughter. They hope that sharing his story will bring awareness to the issue of men experiencing domestic abuse.
