In a quiet Phoenix neighborhood, the lives of a young family were tragically cut short in a violent intrusion. On the afternoon of January 22, 2023, police responded to a call about an injured person at a home near 51st Avenue and Warner Street. Inside, they made a devastating discovery: 28-year-old Cameron Brown and his 27-year-old fiancée, Asya Ribble, had been shot and killed.
The couple's two young children, a 6-year-old autistic son and a 2-year-old daughter, were found physically unharmed inside the residence.
Neighbors were left in shock, with one recalling a chilling conversation she overheard outside the home just before police arrived. A man had warned a crying woman not to go inside because of what she would see. This unsettling exchange prompted the neighbor's call to 911. The victims' family described Brown and Ribble as a loving couple with bright futures who had been together for about seven years after meeting in elementary school.
The investigation quickly led Phoenix homicide detectives to identify a suspect: 39-year-old Leroy Malone, a man with a lengthy criminal history that included charges of armed robbery and aggravated assault. Investigators learned that an adult female was likely with Malone, and the pair was tracked as they fled the state. Phoenix police disseminated information about the suspects to law enforcement agencies nationwide.
The pursuit of Malone came to a deadly end in Minneola, Kansas. Deputies from the Clark County Sheriff's Office, acting on the information from Phoenix police, located Malone and the woman. A confrontation ensued, resulting in a shootout. Malone was shot and killed by the deputies. The woman with him was also shot and hospitalized in critical condition. The incident in Kansas also resulted in injuries to multiple sheriff's deputies, with one being in serious condition in the ICU.
