On a spring evening in Detroit, a family dispute over a handgun escalated into a tragedy that claimed the life of 66-year-old Clyde Edmonds. The male victim was fatally shot multiple times on May 22, 2021, on the front lawn of a residence in the 13200 block of Whitcomb Street. Responding Detroit police officers found Edmonds with multiple gunshot wounds, and he was pronounced dead after being transported to a local hospital.
The investigation quickly led authorities to a suspect: Keith
Appling, a 29-year-old former Michigan State University basketball star. Appling and Edmonds were related; the victim's wife is the first cousin of Appling's mother. Following the shooting, which stemmed from an argument over the firearm, Appling fled the scene. His girlfriend, Natalie Brooks Banister, drove him away from the location. Two days later, on May 24, Appling was apprehended by state troopers in Chelsea, Michigan, where a firearm was recovered.
In the ensuing legal proceedings, Appling was charged with first-degree murder, felon in possession of a firearm, and felony firearm. His girlfriend, Banister, faced charges of being an accessory after the fact and lying to a peace officer for her role in the events following the shooting. As his trial was set to begin, Appling pleaded guilty to a lesser charge of second-degree murder and one count of felony firearm on February 13, 2023. This plea was part of an agreement that resulted in the dismissal of the other charges against him.
On March 3, 2023, Keith Appling was sentenced to 18 to 40 years in prison for second-degree murder, with an additional consecutive two-year sentence for the felony firearm conviction. Natalie Banister had previously pleaded guilty to lying to a police officer in July 2022. The charge of being an accessory after the fact was dismissed, and she was sentenced to 18 months of probation for her part in the incident.
