In the late hours of a tragic Friday on March 1, 2019, the life of 24-year-old Delayno Raymont Hudson, a Black male from Lansing, Michigan, was irrevocably altered. A call reporting a car crash at the Mill Pond Village mobile home park on the south side of Lansing brought police to a grim scene. Inside a white sedan that had struck another vehicle, officers discovered not the aftermath of a simple accident, but a scene of brutal violence.
Hudson and two other men, a 22-year-old from Lansing and a 66-year-old from Haslett, were all suffering from gunshot wounds.
Rushed to the hospital, Hudson fought for his life but ultimately succumbed to his critical injuries two days later, on March 3, 2019. The two other victims, fortunate to have survived the encounter, were reported to be in stable condition. The investigation that followed quickly determined that this was not a random act of violence. All the men in the car, including the perpetrator, were known to each other. The tranquility of the mobile home park had been shattered by a calculated and ruthless act.
The ensuing police investigation led to the identification and arrest of 23-year-old Kyvon Wells, also a resident of Lansing. The details that emerged during the legal proceedings painted a chilling picture of the events inside the car. Without any apparent provocation or warning, Wells had shot all three of his companions in the head. While the other two men managed to escape the vehicle and find help, Hudson was too severely wounded to move. Wells was subsequently charged with a litany of serious offenses, including second-degree murder, two counts of attempted murder, armed robbery, and multiple weapons charges.
In a move that avoided a full trial, Kyvon Wells pleaded no contest to second-degree murder in September 2021. His sentencing brought to light the heinous nature of his crime and his profound lack of remorse. It was revealed that shortly after the shooting, Wells was found partying and soliciting women in a hotel room. For his actions, he was sentenced to a term of 29 to just over 64 years in prison, with credit for the time he had already served while awaiting his trial and sentencing.
