Darius Sims, a 29-year-old Black / African American man, was killed in his Gary, Indiana, home in the early morning hours of June 9, 2023. The events that led to his death began with a domestic dispute between Sims and his girlfriend.
Around 2:45 a.m., Sims told the woman and her two children to leave the residence in the 2500 block of Madison Street. The woman called the children’s father, Dyequan Kizer, to come and pick them up.
While she had Kizer on speakerphone, an argument broke out between him and Sims, with the two men shouting obscenities at each other. According to a witness, Sims then helped the woman gather her belongings, and there was no physical altercation between them.
Kizer, a Chicago resident, drove to the Madison Street home. After his arrival, he shot Sims once in the chest. A witness told police that Sims was unarmed. After being shot, Sims grabbed his chest, fell to his knees, and then collapsed onto his back. The witness called 911 and attempted to render aid based on the operator's instructions, but Sims was pronounced dead at a local hospital at 3:52 a.m.
Police were called to the scene at approximately 4:10 a.m. Kizer had initially left the residence in a red Hyundai, but he returned and was taken into custody by Gary police. He was initially charged with murder and held without bail.
In April 2025, Dyequan Kizer, then 30, signed a plea agreement, admitting guilt to a lesser charge of voluntary manslaughter under sudden heat. At his sentencing hearing, Kizer, who had no prior criminal history, apologized to the Sims family for his actions.
A judge sentenced Kizer to 20 years in prison in September 2025. Kizer later appealed the length of his sentence, arguing it was too harsh. In a unanimous decision in February 2026, the Indiana Court of Appeals rejected the appeal and upheld the 20-year sentence, finding it to be appropriate.
