In Fort Wayne, Indiana, on the evening of April 23, 2005, a gathering turned tragic, ending the life of 22-year-old Renae Ann Strater. A White female, Renae was a graduate of Woodlan High School and a devoted mother to her two children, a son and a daughter. She was at a friend's apartment with a few other people, including Lorenzo Stewart.
The small group was drinking and dancing in the kitchen when the atmosphere shifted. At some point in the evening, Stewart made a comment to Strater, suggesting she thought she was 'too good for him' and threatened to harm her. Shortly after this verbal threat, Stewart produced a. 38 pistol and shot Renae Strater in the head, killing her.
Immediately after shooting Strater, Stewart turned the gun on another woman in the apartment, Janice Coleman, shooting her in the torso. Coleman sustained serious injuries but survived the attack. After the shootings, Stewart fled the apartment, admitting to a neighbor, 'I shot them bitches, I shot them bitches,' and expressing regret by stating, 'I fu*ked up, I fu*ked up, damn, I fu*ked up.'
Lorenzo Stewart was subsequently arrested and faced legal proceedings for his actions. He was convicted of murder for the death of Renae Strater and attempted murder for the shooting of Janice Coleman. Court records indicate that he later appealed his conviction, claiming ineffective assistance of counsel, but the judgment of the trial court was affirmed. The case documents lay out a clear sequence of events leading to the violent and untimely death of Renae Strater. She was laid to rest in Eel River Cemetery in Allen County, Indiana.
