On a warm summer evening in Little Rock, Arkansas, the life of 44-year-old Tanuyna Wilson, a Black/African American female, was tragically cut short. On July 27, 2014, at approximately 9:40 p.m., the sound of two gunshots shattered the calm in the 3700 block of West 11th Street. Neighbors who heard the shots discovered Wilson lying in front of her apartment complex, the victim of a fatal shooting.
In the immediate aftermath of the incident, witnesses provided a description of a potential
suspect. They described a Black male, estimated to be between 25 and 40 years old and approximately 5'6" tall, seen wearing a white button-down shirt and slacks. Despite this description, the motive for the shooting remained a mystery, and no immediate arrests were made, leaving a sense of unease within the community.
Little Rock Police Department detectives began their investigation, meticulously collecting evidence from the scene of the crime. This evidence proved to be the key to unlocking the case. After analysis by the Arkansas State Crime Lab, the collected evidence pointed to a single suspect: 63-year-old Aulden Thomas. On August 15, 2014, nearly three weeks after the shooting, Thomas was taken into custody by law enforcement. He was subsequently charged with first-degree murder and possession of a firearm by certain persons in connection with Tanuyna Wilson's death. At the time of his arrest, Thomas did not provide a statement to the police, and the specific details of the evidence that linked him to the crime were not publicly disclosed.
