On a Christmas night in 2006, 18-year-old Ryan Thomas Waller, a White male, and his girlfriend, Heather Quan, were settling in for a quiet evening at their Phoenix, Arizona, apartment. Their holiday was violently interrupted when two men, Richie Lee Carver, a former roommate of Waller's, and his father, Larry Lloyd Carver, forced their way into the residence. The intruders shot Waller in the head and then fatally shot Quan.
After the attack, the Carvers ransacked the apartment, stealing electronics and a guitar.
When Waller did not arrive for Christmas dinner, his concerned parents went to his apartment. Receiving no answer, they contacted the police for a wellness check. When officers arrived, they found Quan's body and an injured Waller. Mistaking his gunshot wound for a black eye from a physical altercation, the police treated Waller as a suspect in Quan's murder. Despite his severe and life-threatening injuries, Waller was interrogated for hours before receiving medical attention.
During the intense questioning, a dazed and incoherent Waller struggled to answer questions but was eventually able to identify Richie Carver and his father as the assailants. The bullet had entered the left side of his face, causing brain swelling and leaving fragments behind his eye. He was hospitalized for 35 days and suffered from debilitating seizures for the rest of his life.
The investigation eventually led to the capture of Richie and Larry Carver. Richie Carver was found guilty of felony murder, burglary, aggravated assault, and misconduct with weapons, receiving a sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole. After a lengthy legal process, Larry Carver was also convicted on charges of first-degree murder, attempted first-degree murder, burglary, and aggravated assault, and was sentenced to life in prison.
Ryan Waller's health continued to decline due to the severe injuries he sustained. The seizures that plagued him after the shooting ultimately led to his death in January 2016, nearly a decade after the brutal home invasion.
