Do you know who murdered Kendra Mercedes Smith? In the late summer of 2004, the life of 23-year-old Kendra Mercedes Smith was tragically cut short in Washington, D.C. A graduate of Temple University with a degree in communications and business, she was a new mother with dreams of possibly moving to California. On the evening of September 6, 2004, after spending Labor Day with family and friends, she was fatally shot while sitting in the passenger seat of a car in the 4300 block of D Street in Southeast Washington.
She was rushed to a hospital in critical condition but succumbed to her injuries the following day.
The initial investigation into the young woman's death presented a puzzling scene for detectives. The back window of the vehicle was shattered, and numerous shell casings were found on the street, leading police to believe the shots were fired from outside the car. For years, the case grew cold, leaving her family with unanswered questions and a sense of unresolved justice. The investigation stalled, with detectives pursuing a fruitless search for a mysterious gunman.
Fourteen years later, a breakthrough in the cold case brought renewed hope for a resolution. In November 2018, a re-examination of the evidence by a cold case detective led to a new interpretation of the events of that fatal night. The detective and the medical examiner concluded that Kendra Smith had been shot at close range from inside the vehicle. This crucial reassessment of the crime scene evidence pointed investigators in a new direction.
The focus of the investigation turned to Tony Aiken, a man who had been in a relationship with Kendra Smith that had ended about a month before her death. On the night of the shooting, Aiken was with her in the car. Following the renewed investigation, 47-year-old Tony Aiken was arrested and charged with second-degree murder while armed. Authorities alleged that the gunshots fired outside the vehicle were a deliberate attempt to mislead the initial investigation. Following his arrest, the legal proceedings against Aiken began, marking the start of a long and complex journey through the court system, with multiple delays and legal challenges.
