In the winter of 2020, a bright and promising life was tragically cut short. Kimari Hunt, a 21-year-old female from Indianapolis, Indiana, was killed on February 5, 2020. Known for her vibrant personality and beautiful smile, Kimari was a graduate of John Marshall Community High School where she had been a member of the varsity volleyball and track teams and was even voted prom queen in 2017.
She had her sights set on a future in dentistry and was planning to attend Ivy Tech.
On that fateful February evening, Kimari was at a residence on Shady Oak Drive in Indianapolis with three others: Braxton Ford, 21; Marcel Wills, 20; and Jalen Roberts, 19. The gathering, which reportedly included a dice game, took a horrific turn when three armed individuals entered the apartment. The home was ransacked in what appeared to be a robbery, and an empty safe was discovered by investigators. In the ensuing violence, Kimari and the three young men with her were all shot multiple times. First responders arrived to a grim scene, finding all four victims deceased inside the apartment.
The investigation into the quadruple homicide led Indianapolis Metropolitan Police to four suspects. Through the use of surveillance footage that captured the suspects entering and leaving the apartment, authorities identified Cameron Banks, his brother Desmond Banks, Lasean Watkins, and Rodreice Anderson as the individuals responsible. Anderson was identified as the getaway driver.
The pursuit of justice for Kimari Hunt and the other victims culminated in the arrests and prosecution of all four suspects. Rodreice Anderson, the getaway driver, entered into a plea agreement in October 2022, pleading guilty to four counts of robbery resulting in serious bodily injury and agreeing to cooperate with the prosecution. In March 2023, a jury found Cameron Banks, Desmond Banks, and Lasean Watkins guilty on multiple counts, including murder, felony murder, and robbery resulting in serious bodily injury. The Banks brothers were each sentenced to 220 years in prison for their roles in the killings. Lasean Watkins received a sentence of 240 years in prison in April 2023.
