In a senseless act of violence on the evening of March 23, 2024, a 17-year-old Black female named Delayah Sims was fatally shot outside her home in Tacoma, Washington. The tragedy unfolded in the 1800 block of South 15th Street, just nineteen days after she had celebrated her seventeenth birthday. Delayah succumbed to gunshot wounds to her abdomen and left forearm, and her death was officially ruled a homicide by the Pierce County Medical Examiner's Office.
In her final moments, she was heard screaming that she had been shot and calling out for her mother before her father rushed her to a local hospital where she died.
The events leading up to her death were harrowing. In the days prior, Delayah had been receiving threatening text messages from her 18-year-old ex-boyfriend, Aiden Ray Tyrrell. The two were in the process of breaking up, and Tyrrell had been accusing her of cheating. Just two days before the fatal shooting, Tyrrell went to her home, tried to lure her outside, and, when she refused, he fired a shot into her next-door neighbor's apartment before driving away. On the day of the murder, Tyrrell was supposed to be returning Delayah's belongings. While on the phone with her sister, Delayah mentioned he was arriving, and shortly after she went outside, her sister heard screams over the phone. A witness reported seeing a gunshot come from a tan sedan that then sped away from the scene.
In the wake of the shooting, Aiden Ray Tyrrell turned himself in to the authorities. He was subsequently charged with first-degree murder, first-degree assault, drive-by shooting, and second-degree unlawful possession of a firearm. Prosecutors revealed that Tyrrell had threatened to kill Delayah before he lured her out of her apartment and shot her. Tyrrell later pleaded guilty to first-degree murder for Delayah's death and third-degree assault for firing into the neighbor's window. Citing his psychological state, which was impacted by childhood trauma and substance abuse, his defense attorneys argued for a lower sentence. In September 2025, Aiden Tyrrell, then 20, was sentenced to 23 years in prison for the murder of Delayah Sims.
