William Harris was a 17-year-old boy who, from the day he was adopted at age three, was a deeply loved member of his family. His brother, Kameron Harris, recalled that on the very first day, William called his new siblings his brothers and sisters and his adoptive parents "mom and dad." His family knew instantly that he belonged with them. His mother, Lori Harris, remembered that less than a week before his death, William had gone to the altar at church to repent, feeling he needed to make things right. It was a moment that brought his family some comfort, a sign of his conscience and his heart.
On the night of Friday, January 29, 2016, William and a friend, 19-year-old Kayla DeBorde, were at a large birthday party at a home on Orange Avenue near Easton, an unincorporated community just south of Fresno, California. The party, which had been advertised on social media, drew a crowd estimated between 150 and 300 people.
As William and his cousin were getting ready to leave to make their curfews, a fight erupted between two rival groups. The argument escalated with shocking speed, and unidentified assailants fired approximately 35 gunshots into the crowd. In the chaos, both William Harris and Kayla DeBorde were struck and killed. They were innocent bystanders caught in a wave of senseless violence.
The Fresno County Sheriff's Department responded to the scene of the double homicide. Detectives detained several people that night, but the investigation was immediately hampered by a profound lack of witness cooperation. Despite the large number of guests, very few people came forward with information about who was involved in the fight or who fired the shots. The wall of silence became a source of immense and ongoing pain for the victims' families, a pain they said hurt as much as the murders themselves. No arrests have ever been made in the case.
In the years that followed, the families of William and Kayla have repeatedly pleaded for someone to break the silence. William's mother, Lori Harris-Ray, spoke of the future her son lost, saying, "I lost my son, he never got to have a driver's license, he never got to have a girlfriend, get married." His father, Kevin Harris, expressed his frustration with those who stay silent, stating, "That's troubling to know they are carrying on with their life unscathed when it is a daily battle for us." Kayla's mother, Brandi Collins, spoke with raw grief about the shooters and the witnesses: "They don't have a conscience, and whoever knows, they don't have a conscience either, they don't have a life." The shooting left Kayla's young daughter, who was just 18 months old at the time, without a mother.
The investigation into the murders of William Harris and Kayla DeBorde remains an open and active cold case with the Fresno County Sheriff's Department. Investigators believe there are people who were at the party who know exactly who is responsible for the deaths. The families hope that as the young people who attended that night grow older and become parents themselves, their perspectives might change and their conscience might lead them to finally come forward.
To encourage new leads, California Governor Gavin Newsom first announced a $50,000 reward in September 2019 for information leading to an arrest and conviction in the case. This reward was reissued in April 2026, reaffirming the state's commitment to finding justice for the two teenagers. Central Valley Crime Stoppers has offered an additional reward of $3,000. As of April 2026, the case remains unsolved. Anyone with information is urged to contact the Fresno County Sheriff’s Department Sergeant Alan Kelzer at 559-600-8200 or 559-600-8204.
