In the summer of 2017, the life of Justin Robert Kern, a 36-year-old White / Caucasian male, was tragically cut short in Louisville, Kentucky. On the evening of June 9th, the sounds of gunfire shattered the peace at an apartment complex on Manslick Road in the Jacobs neighborhood. Responding to a call shortly before 10:30 p.m., Louisville Metro Police officers discovered Kern on the second floor, suffering from multiple gunshot wounds.
Despite immediate medical attention, he was pronounced dead at the scene.
The investigation into the violent death of Justin Kern moved swiftly. Homicide detectives quickly identified two suspects in connection with the fatal shooting. Within a couple of days, police arrested 18-year-old Gemehr O. Murphy and a 16-year-old male accomplice, whose name was not released due to his juvenile status. The pair faced a litany of serious charges, including murder, first-degree robbery, tampering with physical evidence, and theft of firearms, painting a grim picture of the events that led to Kern's demise.
As the legal process began to unfold, further details of the crime came to light. According to police reports, Murphy confessed that he and the teenager had killed Justin Kern during the course of a robbery, in which they also stole multiple firearms. A search of Murphy's residence on Bachmann Drive yielded a significant discovery of several firearms, believed to be the weapons stolen during the deadly encounter. Murphy was subsequently held on a substantial full cash bond, with a judge deeming him a danger to the community.
