In the autumn of 2015, a series of tragic events unfolded in Fort Wayne, Indiana, resulting in the deaths of three young people, including 21-year-old Larry Devon Washington Jr. The violent episode began on Thursday, October 22, when Larry's younger brother, 20-year-old Brandon Terrell Washington, was found shot to death inside a home on Plaza Drive. Another man in the home, Mykell Montgomery, was also shot but survived his injuries.
The following morning, on Friday, October 23, 2015, the grim discovery of two more bodies sent a shockwave through the community. Larry Washington Jr. and 16-year-old Anastasia LaShawn Butler were found deceased inside a parked SUV. Both had been shot, and the Allen County Coroner's Office officially ruled their deaths as homicides. Authorities quickly announced that the three killings were related and described them as 'targeted violence,' suggesting the victims were not chosen at random. At the time of his death, it was reported that Larry Washington was awaiting a March trial for charges of robbery and criminal confinement in two separate cases.
The investigation into the interconnected homicides led authorities to a suspect in the first shooting. In November 2015, 24-year-old Hozyfa H. Sultan was arrested in Snellville, Georgia, by FBI agents and local police. He was extradited back to Indiana to face charges for the murder of Brandon Washington and the attempted murder of Mykell Montgomery. During Sultan's trial, Montgomery testified that Brandon Washington had invited Sultan to the house and had asked him to bring a gun so they could seek revenge for the shooting of a friend. Montgomery stated that instead, Sultan opened fire on both of them.
In March 2017, a jury found Hozyfa Sultan guilty on all counts, including murder, attempted murder, and a firearm enhancement. He was subsequently sentenced to a total of 110 years in prison. While the conviction brought a resolution to the murder of Brandon Washington, the cases of Larry Washington Jr. and Anastasia Butler officially remain unsolved. At the time their bodies were discovered, police had not identified any suspects. Despite the arrest and conviction of Sultan for the connected murder of Brandon, no charges have ever been announced against him or any other individual for the deaths of Larry and Anastasia, leaving their families with unanswered questions.
