In the early morning hours of May 18, 2017, a senseless act of violence cut short the life of six-year-old Kingston Frazier. The young boy was asleep in the backseat of his mother's car in the parking lot of a Kroger in Jackson, Mississippi, when the vehicle was stolen. This incident set in motion a tragic chain of events that would end in his death and lead to the arrest and conviction of three young men.
Three teenagers, Byron McBride, D'Allen Washington, and Dwan Wakefield, were at
the Kroger parking lot when McBride decided to steal the running car. Unbeknownst to the trio at first, Kingston was sleeping in the back. McBride drove the stolen vehicle to a secluded industrial area in Gluckstadt, where he shot and killed the young boy before abandoning the car. Hours later, the car was discovered with Kingston's body still in the backseat.
The investigation, a collaborative effort among several local and state law enforcement agencies, quickly identified the three suspects through surveillance footage, cell phone location data, and statements from the co-defendants. All three were arrested later that day. McBride was identified as the shooter and charged with capital murder. Washington and Wakefield faced charges related to their involvement as accessories to the crimes.
Byron McBride ultimately pleaded guilty to the capital murder of Kingston Frazier and was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. D'Allen Washington pleaded guilty to accessory after the fact to kidnapping and received a 15-year prison sentence. Dwan Wakefield was found guilty by a jury on charges of accessory after the fact to murder, kidnapping, and vehicle theft, resulting in a 40-year prison sentence. His conviction was later upheld by the Mississippi Court of Appeals.
