On a tragic Sunday evening in Phoenix, Arizona, the life of 29-year-old Danica Aiken was cut short in a violent sequence of events that unfolded just before midnight on June 19, 2022. Responding to reports of a shooting at an apartment complex near 20th Avenue and Hadley Street, police discovered a horrifying scene. Outside an apartment, they found 38-year-old Eric Sands, who had been fatally shot.
The investigation inside the apartment revealed the full scope of the tragedy.
Danica Aiken was found deceased, also a victim of gunfire. Authorities identified her ex-boyfriend, 24-year-old Taffari Celestine, as the suspect. It is believed that Celestine first shot and killed Sands, who was Aiken's new boyfriend, outside the residence. Witnesses reported seeing Celestine then force Aiken into her apartment, where the sound of more gunshots was heard.
The incident concluded with Celestine taking his own life. Inside the apartment, officers found him dead from an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound. The investigation determined that the motive was a tragic domestic dispute, culminating in a double murder-suicide. Danica Aiken, a mother to an 11-year-old daughter, and Eric Sands had reportedly moved into the apartment just two months prior to the incident. There were no arrests to be made as the sole suspect died at the scene.
