Man fatally shot in Okolona neighborhood: The latest on Louisville homicides
Louisville suffered record-setting levels of violence in 2021, and during 2022, The Courier Journal is tracking each fatal incident to better understand violence in the city and memorialize the victims.
This list is updated as regularly as possible.
Homicides include those investigated by Louisville Metro Police as well as other Jefferson County law enforcement agencies. All victims were from Louisville, unless otherwise noted.
This list is preliminary, and the number of homicides can change as authorities investigate the circumstances of each case, determining whether the slaying was criminal, justified, accidental or suicide. The Courier Journal has excluded cases deemed accidents, suicides, fatal overdoses or hit-and-run deaths.
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So far in 2022, LMPD has investigated 11 homicides — with the deaths of two pregnant women each being counted as double homicides. Last year, it investigated a record-high 187.
Help us remember homicide victims: If you feel like sharing anecdotes or photos with us, please email lounews@courierjournal.com.
Anyone with information about these homicides can contact the Louisville Metro Police anonymous tip line at 502-574-LMPD (5673) or provide information online at p3tips.com/tipform.aspx?ID=563.
Man fatally shot in Okolona
Police responded to a shooting report around 9:15 p.m. Jan. 15 in the 1100 block of Lavista Way, off Preston Highway, according to LMPD.
Officers soon found a man with a gunshot wound nearby in the 3500 block of Olive Road. He later died at University of Louisville Hospital.
Man shot to death in Shawnee
Terry Williams, 43, was fatally shot Jan. 15 in the Shawnee neighborhood, according to LMPD.
Officers responded to a report of a shooting around 5:45 a.m. in the 3800 block of River Park Drive. Williams died at the scene.
No suspects have been named, LMPD spokesperson Dwight Mitchell said.
Man shot to death in Chickasaw
A man was found with a gunshot wound in a building in the Chickasaw neighborhood Jan. 14, according to LMPD.
At about 7:45 p.m., officers were dispatched to the 4100 block of W. Broadway. The man was pronounced dead on the scene, LMPD spokesperson Dwight Mitchell said.
The LMPD Homicide Unit is investigating. There are no suspects.
Cameron Seay
The Jefferson County Coroner's Office has identified the man shot Jan. 8 near the Fern Creek neighborhood as Cameron Seay, 21.
LMPD officers responded to a shooting in the 4600 block of Wattbourne Lane near Fern Creek and Jeffersontown around 5:30 p.m., according to department spokesperson Beth Ruoff.
Officers located "an obviously deceased adult male suffering from gunshot wounds," Ruoff said.
His home address was listed as the same location as the shooting.
No suspects are in custody at this time.
Nyota Bawili
A woman was killed early Sunday, Jan. 9, in a shooting in Louisville's Southside neighborhood, according to LMPD.
Nyota Bawili, 39, was a mother of seven and was pregnant with her eighth child.
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Fourth Division officers responded to a report of a shooting in the 5000 block of Wabash Place just before 2 a.m., according to department spokeswoman Beth Ruoff.
Bawili's husband said he and his wife were watching TV when a bullet tore through their home.
No suspects have been identified and LMPD's Homicide Unit is handling the investigation.
Jakia Holt
Jakia Holt died Jan. 8 at University of Louisville Hospital from multiple gunshot wounds.
Holt, 36, was shot Jan. 3 in the 4200 block of Northwestern Parkway on the edge of Portland and Shawnee, the Jefferson County Coroner's Office said.
Police have not announced any arrests in connection with her death.
Local activist Christopher 2X told The Courier Journal that Holt was 5 months pregnant when she was found shot in a vehicle. The coroner's office and police have not released further details.
Erik Girton Jr.
LMPD responded to the 3200 block of Springfield Drive shortly before midnight Jan. 6 and found a man who had been shot multiple times. He was pronounced dead at the scene.
The Jefferson County Coroner's Office later identified the man as Erik Girton Jr., 24.
There are currently no suspects. The LMPD Homicide Unit is investigating.
Girton's father, Erik Girton Sr., told The Courier Journal his son "was loved by his family (and) would give you anything he had to make you happy."
The young man "loved showing off his weight loss and tattoos, walking around shirtless," Girton Sr. added.
"A happy young man," the father said. "Our family had another loss a couple months ago, his cousin (and) my nephew Terry Smith."
Smith was a JCPS bus driver who was fatally shot in September 2021 while driving in his personal vehicle on Interstate 264.
"There's gotta be another way," Girton Sr. said.
Man found dead in vehicle in Taylor Berry
Louisville Metro Police responded to the second homicide of 2022 just before 2:30 a.m. Jan. 5 in the 2700 block of Taylor Boulevard.
On scene, officers found an adult man inside a vehicle who had been shot multiple times.
There are currently no suspects in custody. The LMPD Homicide Unit is investigating.
Thaddaeus Hudson
The first homicide of 2022 was reported Jan. 1 after a man was found dead in a vehicle in the Highview neighborhood, according to Louisville Metro Police.
At about 6 p.m., the man was pronounced dead on the scene at the intersection of Smyrna Parkway and Outer Loop.
"It appears that all parties involved have been accounted for and are being interviewed," said LMPD spokesperson Dwight Mitchell.
The LMPD Homicide Unit is investigating.
Deputy Jefferson County Coroner Kimberly Smith identified the man as Thaddaeus L. Hudson, 35, of Louisville. The cause of death was a homicide from a gunshot wound, she said in a news release.