SOLVEDListenAuburn, Lee County, Alabama · 2000s
Murder of Lori Ann Slesinski
Lori Ann Slesinski disappeared from Auburn in 2006, and Derrill Richard Ennis was convicted of her murder despite her body never being found.
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What happened
On the night of April 15, 2023, gunfire erupted at approximately 10:34 p.m. CST during a 16th birthday celebration held at the former Dadeville Bank building at 220 N. Broadnax St in Dadeville, Alabama, which had been converted into the Mahogany Masterpiece Dance Studio in 2021. Approximately sixty people were inside the venue at the time. Witnesses said that prior to the shooting, the birthday celebrant's mother had turned on the lights and demanded that anyone carrying a gun leave after hearing a rumor that someone at the party was armed; when no one left, she turned the lights back off. Shooting reportedly began within about five minutes of that warning, though the party's DJ said roughly an hour passed between a person carrying a gun being turned away and the shooting starting. Local outlet WRBL reported the shooting was believed to stem from an altercation.
Four people were killed: Marsiah Emmanuel Collins, 19; Philstavious Dowdell, 18 (brother of the birthday celebrant); Corbin Dahmontrey Holston, 23; and Shaunkivia Nicole Smith, 17. Thirty-two others were injured. Investigators recovered 89 handgun shell casings from seven different guns at the scene, but no high-powered rifle ammunition. Holston was found with a gun on his chest.
In the aftermath, the Tallapoosa County school district arranged counseling for students, flags at Dadeville High School were lowered to half-mast, sporting events were canceled, and vigils were held on April 16. President Joe Biden called rising gun violence "outrageous and unacceptable" and urged Congress to pass firearm-related legislation. Dadeville Mayor Jimmy Frank Goodman Sr. urged calm and described the victims as students trying to graduate and make their parents proud. Jacksonville State University football coach Rich Rodriguez issued a statement after learning one victim had committed to the team.
The Alabama Law Enforcement Agency launched an investigation at the request of the Dadeville Police Department. Between April 18 and April 20, 2023, six suspects were arrested: 17-year-old Tyreese McCullough, 16-year-old Travis McCullough, 20-year-old Wilson LaMar Hill, 20-year-old Johnny Letron Brown, 19-year-old Willie George Brown Jr., and a 15-year-old later identified as Sherman Peters, who was tried as an adult. In May 2023, the Browns, Hill, and the McCullough brothers were indicted on four counts of reckless murder, twenty-four counts of first-degree assault, and one count of third-degree assault. One person reportedly wore an ankle monitor related to a previous shooting at the time of the incident.
On March 27, 2026, Willie Brown, Wilson Hill, Peters, and the McCullough brothers pleaded guilty to reckless murder and assault charges, each receiving five years in prison plus fifteen years' probation. The sixth defendant received youthful offender status. One reckless murder charge, related to the death of Corbin Holston, was dropped based on the belief that his actions had initiated the gunfire.
