In the early hours of a spring morning in Denver, Colorado, a frantic 911 call pierced the quiet. On the other end of the line was 20-year-old Alexus Keith, a young Black woman also known as 'Lexy.' She desperately pleaded for help, telling the dispatcher her ex-girlfriend was armed with a gun and pointing it at her. The call, made just before 3 a.m. on April 25, 2019, would be her last.
Minutes into the call, Alexus's voice fell silent, replaced by the chilling sound of screaming in the background. When officers and paramedics arrived at the apartment in the 2700 block of West 28th Avenue in the Highlands neighborhood, they found Alexus with a gunshot wound. Rushed to Denver Health, she was pronounced dead at approximately 4 a.m. The life of a woman described as sweet, caring, and the life of the party, was tragically cut short.
The investigation into the shooting, deemed a domestic violence-related homicide, quickly led to a suspect. Shortly after the incident, police located and arrested Paulette Beazhane, also identified as Paulette Joyce, who was 21 or 23 years old at the time. A handgun was also recovered nearby. A witness reported hearing the two women arguing heatedly in the bedroom before the fatal shot was fired. Beazhane was subsequently charged with first-degree murder in connection with the death of her former girlfriend.
