In the spring of 2014, a knock on an apartment door in Phoenix, Arizona, tragically cut short the life of 28-year-old Donna Nez, a Native American woman known to her friends as 'Shorty.' On the evening of Friday, April 18th, Nez was inside an apartment in a complex near 15th Avenue and Camelback Road, spending time with a friend. When she answered a knock, she apparently recognized the person or people on the other side and stepped outside, closing the door behind her. Moments later, the sound of gunfire echoed through the complex.
Donna Nez was shot and fatally wounded in the encounter. Witnesses reported seeing several individuals, described as multiple males and females, fleeing the scene immediately following the shooting. Despite the presence of witnesses who saw the group running from the area, the specific individuals responsible for her death were not immediately identified. Donna died on her way to the hospital, leaving her family and friends devastated and searching for answers.
In the aftermath of the shooting, the Phoenix Police Department and Silent Witness program appealed to the public for any information that could lead to the arrest and indictment of the suspects involved in Donna Nez's murder. Investigators believe that the person who knocked on the door was known to her. Despite these efforts and the passage of time, her case has remained unsolved, and no arrests have been publicly announced in connection with her homicide. The circumstances surrounding the motive for the fatal shooting remain unclear, leaving a lingering sense of injustice for a life taken too soon.
