In the early morning hours of January 6, 2022, a domestic argument in a Tuscaloosa, Alabama home escalated into a tragic event that claimed three lives. Eight-year-old Aiden Carter Williams, a male, was found deceased inside the residence on Charolais Drive, alongside his 29-year-old mother, Derika Shanice McGhee.
Authorities were dispatched to the home around 3:00 a.m. following reports of a shooting.
Upon arrival, deputies from the Tuscaloosa County Sheriff's Office encountered several witnesses who had fled the house. They reported that a man, identified as 34-year-old Darrin Lamar Patton Jr., had possibly shot his girlfriend, Derika McGhee, during a dispute. Aiden and his mother, along with Patton, were still inside the home.
When law enforcement was unable to make contact with anyone inside, the Sheriff's Office Tactical Unit was called to the scene to make entry. Once inside, they discovered the bodies of Patton, McGhee, and young Aiden. The investigation by the Tuscaloosa Violent Crimes Unit concluded that Patton, who was not Aiden's father, had shot and killed both Derika and her son before taking his own life. The case was determined to be a double murder-suicide, with Patton as the sole suspect. Consequently, with the perpetrator deceased, no arrests were made in connection with the deaths of Aiden Carter Williams and Derika Shanice McGhee.
