In the early morning hours of October 1, 2022, a sense of unease settled over The Park at Hoover apartment complex in Hoover, Alabama. A 911 call at approximately 7:52 a.m. shattered the morning calm, leading first responders to a grim discovery. Inside one of the apartments, two women were found deceased, their lives abruptly ended by violence. One of the victims was identified as 39-year-old Lauren Anne White, a Caucasian female. Alongside her was 24-year-old Blakely Meachelle Nelson. Both women had sustained fatal gunshot wounds and were pronounced dead at the scene.
The Hoover Police Department immediately launched a homicide investigation, quickly determining that the double homicide was not a random act of violence. Investigators believed the victims were specifically targeted. Their attention soon focused on an acquaintance of both women, 21-year-old Daxton Elliot Keith of Alabaster. Later that same day, Keith was located and apprehended in Alabaster. He was subsequently charged with two counts of capital murder and held without bond.
The investigation did not end with Keith's arrest. Further police work led to the identification of a second suspect, 20-year-old An'Ton Je'Ho Ram Lewis of Birmingham. Lewis, who was also an acquaintance of the victims and the first suspect, was taken into custody on November 9, 2022, by the United States Marshals Gulf Coast Regional Fugitive Apprehension Task Force. He was also charged with capital murder.
In July 2023, the cases against both men moved forward as a Jefferson County grand jury handed down indictments, formally charging both Daxton Elliot Keith and An'Ton Je'Ho Ram Lewis with capital murder in connection with the deaths of Lauren Anne White and Blakely Meachelle Nelson. The indictments were made public in August of that year, and both men remained in custody, awaiting their trials for the double homicide.
