An ongoing feud between two families living in the same apartment complex in Merrydale, Louisiana, escalated into a tragic and fatal confrontation on the night of September 27, 2024. The dispute, which had been simmering between 19-year-old Dominik Franklin and the Vallery family, reached its violent climax at the home of Shelita Vallery's mother on Grayson Avenue.
This altercation resulted in the deaths of three individuals, including 63-year-old Paul Lewis, a male relative of the Vallery family.
That Friday evening, Franklin, accompanied by his 19-year-old acquaintance Tyrone Eackles, arrived at the residence where a fight broke out. The verbal dispute quickly turned deadly as gunfire erupted. When the shooting stopped, 40-year-old Shelita Vallery and her boyfriend, 62-year-old David Celestine, lay dead at the scene. Paul Lewis was critically injured during the exchange and was rushed to a nearby hospital, where he later succumbed to his wounds. Family members described the event as a senseless act of violence, stating that Vallery died while protecting her nephew.
In the aftermath of the triple homicide, both Dominik Franklin and Tyrone Eackles were also found to have sustained injuries from the gunfire, as one of the victims had reportedly returned fire during the altercation. The two suspects were transported to a hospital for treatment of their non-life-threatening injuries. Upon their release, they were to be booked into the parish prison. Authorities have charged Franklin with three counts of first-degree murder. Eackles faces charges of three counts of principal to first-degree murder and illegal use of a firearm in connection with the deaths of Paul Lewis, Shelita Vallery, and David Celestine.
