In the early morning hours of Friday, February 24, 2017, a neighbor walking her child to school on the near east side of Indianapolis made a tragic discovery. In an alley near the intersection of Ninth and Rural Streets, lay the body of 26-year-old Candice Pigee. She had been shot and left to die sometime late the previous night or early that morning.
Candice, a mother of seven children who ranged in age from one to eleven, was described by her mother as a loving daughter who was
managing a mental illness. Her family was left devastated and searching for answers as to who would take the life of the young mother and why. The Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department immediately began an investigation into her death, working to piece together the events that led to the fatal shooting.
For months, Candice’s family waited for a breakthrough in the case. Then, on May 25, 2017, the IMPD announced an arrest. Thirty-year-old Antuan Cooper was taken into custody by the department's Violent Crimes Unit and charged with the murder of Candice Pigee. The arrest brought a measure of hope to a family still grieving an unimaginable loss, as they began the long journey toward justice for Candice.
