Authorities in Indiana have charged two people with murder in connection with the January death of a 26-year-old single dad.
Jarrell Lamont Pryor, 26, was fatally shot in Indianapolis early in the morning on Jan. 25, the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department said in a statement.
Officers responding to reports of gunshots found Pryor lying on the ground next to a vehicle. He was transported to a hospital, where he later died.
Alexis Hawkins, 19, and her 18-year-old boyfriend Brian Winston Jr., have now been charged with murder in connection with Pryor’s death, per IMPD’s statement. According to FOX 59, Winston was Hawkins’ boyfriend.
The couple were identified as suspects during the initial stage of the investigation, but Hawkins wasn’t arrested until Feb. 26, and Winston was arrested on April 2 in Austin, Texas, before being extradited to Indiana, IMPD said.
Investigators flagged the couple as suspects while going through Pryor’s phone, where they found messages he exchanged with Hawkins on Instagram, according to an arrest affidavit cited by FOX 59; the Indianapolis Star also reported this information.
Pryor messaged Hawkins hours before the killing, asking her about her plans, per the affidavit.
The nature of their messages indicated to investigators that Pryor believed he was going on a date with Hawkins, the Star and FOX59 reported.
However, while Hawkins and Pryor were chatting on Instagram, Hawkins was allegedly chatting with Winston — boasting about having scammed several men, per the Star.
The messages led police to believe Pryor was being set up for a robbery, per the Star and FOX59.
Video evidence, according to the Star, shows Pryor and Hawkins in a car outside a liquor store about an hour before the shooting.
It wasn’t immediately clear when Winston arrived at the scene, but FOX59 reported, citing police, that he was the alleged shooter.
Pryor is being remembered by his family as a doting father to his 2-year-old daughter, Honey, per FOX59.
On his Facebook account, he filled his page with photos of his daughter. Just weeks prior to the arrests, his family celebrated Honey’s third birthday — without her father.
“I’m broken inside. I’m torn. I’m tore up,” his mother Tamekia Wiley told the outlet.
“I mean no justice will ever cure my broken heart. It will not ever bring my baby back.”
A GoFundMe has been set up to assist with the investigation, with remaining funds to go toward Honey’s upbringing.
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Hawkins and Winston are each charged with one count of murder; one count of conspiracy to commit a robbery; and one count of attempted robbery, according to online court records. Winston is charged with an additional offense of murder.
Attorney information for Winston was not available; PEOPLE has reached out to an attorney for Hawkins listed in court records.
Plea information for either suspect was not available in online records at the time of publication.
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