On the evening of December 31, 2019, the life of 58-year-old Dana Wells, a Black female, was tragically cut short in her apartment in Omaha, Nebraska. The events that unfolded painted a grim picture of domestic violence culminating in a fatal confrontation with law enforcement.
That evening, Omaha police officers were dispatched to an apartment complex to check on the welfare of a resident. Upon their arrival, they made a harrowing discovery.
Inside one of the units, they found Dana Wells deceased. An autopsy would later confirm that she had died from a gunshot wound, ruling her death a homicide.
The investigation into her death quickly focused on a person of interest, a man later identified as her boyfriend. He had barricaded himself inside the apartment, leading to a tense standoff with the police. Officers on the scene reported hearing a woman's voice cry out, "No, Terry," followed by the sound of gunshots moments before the man emerged from the residence armed with a handgun.
Fearing for their safety and the safety of others, officers engaged the armed man. The confrontation ended with the suspect being fatally shot by the police. The man was identified as Terry Hudson, who was also known by the name Marlon Coates.
In the aftermath, the Douglas County Attorney's Office conducted a thorough investigation into both the death of Dana Wells and the officer-involved shooting of Terry Hudson/Marlon Coates. In March 2021, a grand jury was convened to review the case. The grand jury's investigation concluded that the officers were justified in their use of force against Hudson/Coates. While no formal charges could be brought against him due to his death, the investigation strongly indicated that he was the individual responsible for the murder of Dana Wells, effectively closing the case as a murder-suicide. No other suspects were sought in connection with her death, and no arrests were made.
