On the evening of April 12, 2024, a violent tragedy unfolded at the Jamestowne Apartments in Lawrence, an enclave within Indianapolis, Indiana. Police officers responded to reports of gunfire in the 4400 block of Duxbury Lane around 7:15 p.m. Upon arrival, they discovered a grisly scene in the parking lot involving a Chevy Cruze. Three individuals were found dead outside the vehicle, having sustained multiple gunshot wounds.
The victims were identified as 27-year-old Spencer Lawson Jr., 19-year-old Londyn Coleman, and her cousin, 19-year-old Black female Aaliyah Wortman. Investigators determined that the victims had been ambushed, with forensic evidence later revealing that Wortman had been shot approximately ten times during the attack.
Detectives quickly launched a homicide investigation, believing the shooting to be a targeted execution-style killing. Within days, law enforcement identified a suspect, 24-year-old Malik Shaw, who was arrested on April 16, 2024, and subsequently charged with three counts of murder. Authorities alleged that Shaw and another individual had carried out the attack. The second suspect, whose identity was established by investigators, was never arrested as he died by suicide shortly after the triple homicide.
The case proceeded to trial the following year, where prosecutors argued that the victims were set up. In July 2025, a jury found Malik Shaw guilty of the murders of Aaliyah Wortman and Londyn Coleman, though they deadlocked on the charge related to Spencer Lawson. The following month, on August 27, 2025, a judge sentenced Shaw to 116 years in prison, ordering him to serve 58 years consecutively for each of the two murder convictions. During the sentencing hearing, family members expressed their profound grief, noting that plans for Aaliyah’s graduation and future nursing career were tragically cut short.
