In the quiet, early morning hours of January 4, 2011, in Eclectic, Alabama, the life of a sweet and smart six-year-old girl named Kenyatta Desiree Kendrick was tragically cut short. A first-grader at Eclectic Elementary School, known for a smile that could brighten anyone's day, was asleep in her bed when a barrage of bullets tore through her home.
Struck by a single bullet to her side, the young girl, affectionately called 'Yattaboo' by her loved ones, would not wake up.
The hail of gunfire, with as many as eighteen rounds fired from a high-caliber rifle, shattered the peace of the night and the lives of Kenyatta's family. Her nineteen-year-old uncle, who was sleeping in a chair nearby, was also struck by the gunfire, sustaining injuries to his hip and ankle. He survived the brutal attack, but the family was left to grapple with the senseless loss of an innocent child who had just been excitedly playing with her new Christmas toys.
In the wake of the devastating drive-by shooting, law enforcement acted swiftly. The investigation led to the arrest of three individuals: eighteen-year-old Aaron McDowell, seventeen-year-old Bernard Nix, and twenty-five-year-old Stalandus Slaughter. All three were charged with capital murder in connection with Kenyatta's death and assault for the injuries sustained by her uncle. The alleged motive for this violent act was a reported feud with another family member, a dispute that ultimately claimed the life of a child who had no part in it.
