On the evening of Saint Patrick's Day, March 17, 2022, a grim discovery was made in the parking lot of a vacant building in Phoenix, Arizona. Inside a white 2005 Ford Taurus, police found the bodies of 23-year-old Kyle Ford and his friend, 20-year-old Gage Neal-Belunas. Both men had been fatally shot. The vehicle was located behind a former gun shop near the old MetroCenter Mall, in an area described as run down and dangerous.
The investigation into their deaths revealed that the initial
incident may have occurred earlier in the day. Around 5:15 p.m., police had received a report of a gunshot near a nearby apartment complex parking lot, though it is unclear what the follow-up to that report was. Hours later, at approximately 11:00 p.m., a separate call led officers to the abandoned parking lot where they found Ford and Neal-Belunas. Both men were known to be aspiring entrepreneurs, and a motive for the shooting has not been publicly determined.
While an arrest was made in connection with the double homicide approximately three months after the friends' deaths, the Maricopa County Attorney's Office later declined to prosecute the case. This decision has left the families of both victims searching for answers and accountability. As of now, the case remains unresolved, with no suspects publicly named or in custody for the murders of Kyle Ford and Gage Neal-Belunas. A significant reward has been offered for any information that could lead to an arrest in the case.
