In the cold of a January night in Birmingham, Alabama, the life of 21-year-old Charles 'CJ' Render was violently cut short. On January 29, 2012, Render was with his uncle and three cousins at a home in the Ensley Highlands neighborhood when a home invasion turned deadly. The assailants, in a brutal act, forced the five men into a back bedroom of the Avenue S residence.
There, they were stripped of their clothing before being shot multiple times.
The shocking nature of the quintuple homicide sent ripples of fear and grief through the community. The victims were identified as Charles 'CJ' Render, his 42-year-old uncle Ronnie Render, and his cousins, 19-year-old Demetrius Sanford and 23-year-old Jeffrey Davis Jr., along with a 23-year-old family friend, Jonathan Sanchez. A subsequent police investigation revealed the grim details of the crime, noting that Charles Render had been shot 12 times. While four of the victims were found in a back room, Sanford's body was discovered in an enclosed carport.
The investigation into the heinous crime led to the swift arrest of three teenagers: 17-year-old Rashad Stoves, 16-year-old Artavius Underwood, and 16-year-old Reginald Mims. All three were charged with capital murder. The legal process that followed brought some measure of justice for the grieving families. Rashad Stoves was ultimately convicted on five counts of felony murder and one count of reckless manslaughter, receiving a life sentence in March 2015. Artavius Underwood pleaded guilty to his role in the massacre and was also sentenced to life in prison. Reginald Mims accepted a plea deal, which resulted in a 25-year prison sentence.
