On a tragic early morning in Detroit, Michigan, the life of 28-year-old Tyiela Autrey was cut short. On June 3, 2018, Autrey was fatally shot, and her 22-year-old niece, Kiera Autrey, was critically wounded. The incident occurred at a home on Grandville on the city's northwest side.
The chain of events that culminated in this tragedy began after Tyiela Autrey and her boyfriend, 28-year-old Lenell James Kirby, returned home from a night out.
An argument between the couple escalated and turned physical. Family members reported that Kirby had become jealous and controlling, and Tyiela had expressed a desire to end the relationship.
During the altercation, Kiera Autrey attempted to intervene and separate the two. It was at this point that Kirby allegedly produced a gun and shot both women. Tyiela Autrey was shot in the eye and later succumbed to her injuries at a hospital. Her niece was shot multiple times but miraculously survived. Despite her injuries, Kiera was able to call 911 and her mother, identifying her aunt's boyfriend as the shooter.
Following the shooting, Lenell Kirby fled the scene in a black Equinox and managed to evade a brief police chase. In the days that followed, both the police and Kirby's own mother, Linda Kirby, made public pleas for him to turn himself in. As of June 2024, six years after the incident, Lenell James Kirby remains at large and is still being sought by authorities in connection with the death of Tyiela Autrey and the shooting of her niece. The family continues to seek justice and cope with the lasting trauma of the event.
