On a summer evening in Birmingham, Alabama, the life of 23-year-old Brandon DeWayne McGuire was tragically cut short. It was August 3, 2009, and McGuire was standing outside a vacant home on Jesse Owens Drive around 10:45 p.m. when gunfire erupted from the shadows between nearby houses. The hail of bullets proved fatal for the young man. Witnesses at the scene reported seeing two men, armed with guns, fleeing the area in a white SUV. Despite these initial accounts, those responsible for Brandon's death have never been brought to justice, and his case officially remains an unsolved homicide.
The investigation into McGuire's murder uncovered a chilling link to another act of violence that occurred the very same day. In the nearby city of Brighton, 48-year-old Della Mae Banks was killed when shooters opened fire on her home, striking her as she lay in her bed. Authorities came to believe that Banks's death was a retaliatory act for the killing of McGuire earlier that day. This theory led to a breakthrough in the Banks case, with police arresting Jeremy Dewayne Craig and charging him with capital murder in connection with her death.
While an arrest was made in the connected case, the suspects in Brandon McGuire's shooting have remained at large. As of February 2014, the Birmingham Police Department had yet to make any arrests or publicly name any suspects in his murder. Law enforcement officials have periodically appealed to the public for any information that might lead to a break in the case, with Crime Stoppers offering a cash reward for tips that could lead to an arrest. The community continues to hold out hope for answers and closure in the untimely death of Brandon McGuire.
