Family and friends described KeAira Battle as passionate, generous, and giving. The 27-year-old Black woman was also remembered as fiery, with her brother saying she "had a lot of spice about her." In the early morning hours of June 19, 2020, Battle’s body was discovered in the parking lot of Elmore Community Hospital in Wetumpka, Alabama. An investigation determined she had died from a gunshot wound.
Although her body was found in Wetumpka, evidence quickly indicated that Battle had
been killed in another city. Investigators determined she was shot while sitting in her vehicle in the 5400 block of Wares Ferry Road in Montgomery, about 13 miles away. The discovery led to a public jurisdictional dispute between law enforcement agencies. The Wetumpka Police Department announced that it had identified a suspect within 12 hours, but argued that the Montgomery Police Department needed to take over the case since the crime occurred in its jurisdiction. After a meeting between the district attorneys and police chiefs of both counties, the agencies agreed to conduct a joint investigation into what they called a "cross-jurisdictional crime."
On July 6, 2020, the U.S. Marshals fugitive task force arrested 39-year-old James Burton Dunn. He was charged with capital murder in connection with KeAira Battle's death and was held in the Montgomery County Detention Facility without bond. For three years, the case against Dunn proceeded through the legal system.
In August 2023, the Montgomery County District Attorney's Office dropped the capital murder charge against James Burton Dunn. The district attorney explained that his office had been provided with new evidence that prompted the dismissal, stating, “My office has never and will never pursue a case where the evidence is insufficient.” He did not specify what the new evidence was but said he would request that the Montgomery Police Department reopen the homicide investigation to examine it.
As of August 2023, the investigation into the murder of KeAira Battle has been officially reopened. The case remains unsolved.
