On July 1, 2023, Kayla Davis, a 21-year-old Black woman, left her home in Savannah, Georgia, to go to a neighborhood corner store and never returned. Her mother, Fatima Davis, later recalled the feeling she had when Chatham County Police came to her door. “That feeling, I can’t describe that feeling that I had,” she said. “The hurt, the pain, the loss, the sadness.”
Police were first called to the backyard of a residence on Bismarck Avenue for a report of a stabbing.
A witness told officers he was awakened by a gunshot and went outside to find Kayla lying on the ground. Another woman at the scene said she saw Kayla on the ground and "foaming at the mouth." While police initially told Kayla’s family that she had been stabbed, the county coroner later determined she died from a gunshot wound to the torso and ruled her death a homicide.
Five days after the shooting, on July 6, 2023, police arrested 17-year-old Javonte Ward, who was initially charged with tampering with evidence. The two reportedly did not know each other. On August 23, 2023, a Chatham County grand jury indicted Ward on charges of involuntary manslaughter, tampering with evidence, making a false statement, and possession of a handgun by a person under the age of 18.
The indictment alleged that Ward shot and killed Kayla "without any intention to do so," then concealed his .380 caliber semi-automatic pistol and provided a false statement to an officer. After his indictment, Ward was granted bond. However, he was arrested twice more in 2025, once in June and again in September, on charges that included illegal possession of a weapon, loitering, and prowling. In both instances, police said they found him with a loaded gun.
Following the new arrests, prosecutors filed a motion to revoke Ward's bond. The case against him was placed on the court's competency review docket, and related information about its progress was sealed. As of November 2025, Javonte Ward was being held at Georgia Regional Hospital while the court continued to review his status. A ruling on the motion to revoke his bond had not yet been made.
