In the early morning hours of April 20, 2022, Dennis Kirby Kendrick, a 54-year-old single father, was shot and killed outside of his home in Oxford, Michigan. A U.S. Army veteran and a cancer survivor, Kendrick was a devoted father to his 15-year-old son, Kamari. He worked the morning shift at American Axle in Auburn Hills to ensure he could be present for his son's activities in the evenings.
On that Wednesday morning, at approximately 3:30 a.m., Kendrick was in his car, preparing to leave for work from the parking lot of the Abbey Ridge Apartment Homes. It was then that he was confronted by his 36-year-old neighbor, Marcus Anthony Nathan. Nathan, who did not know Kendrick, had been wandering the apartment complex in search of the sender of a threatening text message he believed he had received. Mistakenly concluding that Kendrick was the one who sent the message, Nathan shot him multiple times at close range with a 9mm handgun. After the shooting, it was Nathan himself who called 911 to report the incident, claiming he had been threatened.
Authorities arriving at the scene found Kendrick deceased and recovered six spent shell casings. Their investigation quickly revealed that Kendrick was a completely innocent victim and had not sent any threatening messages to Nathan. Marcus Anthony Nathan was subsequently arrested and charged with open murder and possession of a firearm in the commission of a felony. He was held without bond at the Oakland County Jail. The tragic and senseless death of Dennis Kirby Kendrick, a man described by his family as a hardworking and dedicated father, left his community and loved ones in profound grief.
