In the early morning hours of November 8, 2021, the life of 28-year-old Trystan Benallie, an Indigenous mother of five, was tragically cut short in her Phoenix, Arizona apartment. She and a friend, 23-year-old Martin Louis, were shot and killed in what authorities have described as a domestic violence incident. One of Benallie's five children, a two-year-old girl, was present in the home at the time of the shooting but was physically unharmed.
The suspect in the double homicide was
identified as 27-year-old Steven Love-Mason, Benallie's ex-boyfriend. Investigators reported that Love-Mason had gone to Benallie's apartment in the 2200 block of East Beardsley Road and had a neighbor knock on the door. When the door was opened, he allegedly forced his way inside and opened fire on Benallie and Louis, both of whom were pronounced dead at the scene. Love-Mason fled after the shooting but was later located and arrested in Tempe. He was subsequently taken into custody and faced two counts of homicide and other charges.
The incident was the culmination of a history of domestic violence that Benallie had reportedly endured. Court documents and family statements revealed that she had previously filed a police report against Love-Mason in early October 2021, claiming he had unlawfully entered her apartment and threatened a neighbor with a gun. Following this, she obtained a restraining order against him on October 12. Despite the protective order, Benallie had to call the police on her ex-boyfriend again just four days later for an alleged assault. Love-Mason was arrested on October 22 for violating the protection order, among other charges, but was released from jail a week later. This release occurred just days before the fatal shooting, a fact that has raised questions and exposed the deep frustrations of a system meant to protect victims of domestic abuse.
