In the early morning hours of Saturday, June 3, 2017, the life of 22-year-old Mikaela Bond Hill, a Black / African American female, was tragically cut short in her Waterloo, Iowa, home. Shortly before 3 a.m., gunfire erupted from outside her residence at 717 Hope Avenue. At least one bullet pierced a bedroom window, striking Mikaela in the head. She was rushed to UnityPoint Health-Allen Hospital, where she succumbed to her injuries.
At the time of the shooting, Mikaela's three young
children and her boyfriend were also inside the house, but miraculously, none of them were physically harmed. Investigators found shell casings scattered in the yard near a child's toy lawn mower, painting a grim picture of the violence that had unfolded. The rounds that struck and killed Mikaela had passed over others in the room before hitting a wall.
Mikaela was a student at Hawkeye Community College, working towards her GED, and was described by her family as being phenomenal with children. She had two sons and a daughter. In the aftermath of her death, the Waterloo Police Department launched a homicide investigation. However, despite their efforts and the collection of evidence from the scene, no arrests have been made in connection with her murder.
The case remains an unsolved homicide, and law enforcement has sought the public's help for information that could lead to an arrest. A reward has been offered by Cedar Valley Crime Stoppers for any information that could bring justice for Mikaela and her family. Her case was submitted to Iowa Cold Cases in February 2018 in the hopes that new leads might emerge.
