A day after Christmas, a dispute between two city residents ended in deadly violence. On December 26, Sanada C. Monroe, 21, was shot and killed inside her apartment at 810 Hardy Dr. by her 19-year-old boyfriend.
 The Westhaven community suffered a tragic outburst of violence on December 26 when Khalil Akeem Powell, 19, shot and killed his girlfriend, Sanada C. Monroe, 21, inside her apartment. Powell then killed himself. |
Khalil Akeem Powell shot Monroe, then left her apartment and walked to the building’s parking lot. There he shot himself once in the head. According to police, there were a number of witnesses to both shootings. Monroe and Powell were taken to the UVA Hospital, where Monroe was pronounced dead.
According to city spokesperson Ric Barrick, a neurologist pronounced Powell clinically brain dead on Wednesday, December 27, at around 2pm. Though he didn’t have any brain activity, Powell was then placed on a respirator because he was an organ donor.
"His mom is in a federal penitentiary, and it was difficult getting in touch with her," says Barrick.
Powell was later taken off the respirator and pronounced dead, said a UVA Hospital spokesperson. Barrick says that he expected that to happen sometime Thursday afternoon, but the hospital spokesperson couldn’t confirm that.
Detective Jim Mooney of the Charlottesville Police Department says he is unsure if Powell was living in the apartment with Monroe. The police do know Powell was a Charlottesville resident because of Powell’s past run-ins with the law. According to The Daily Progress, Powell was out on bail after stabbing Robert Banks, Jr. in the head with a butcher knife. There was a warrant out for Powell’s arrest on the day he killed Monroe.
"His exact address I wouldn’t know," says Mooney. "In fact, I would say he has no fixed address."
The December 26 shootings were the city’s third murder this year. Two occurred around the same place: the 800 block of Hardy Drive. On June 21, 28-year-old William Miller Herndon, a Charlottesville resident, was found unresponsive with multiple gunshot wounds. He later died at UVA Hospital.
On November 9, the body of Jayne Warren McGowan was discovered in her apartment by her co-workers. Police later arrested William Douglas Gentry, 22, and Michael Stuart Pritchett, 18, and charged them with her murder.
C-VILLE welcomes news tips from readers. Send them to news@c-ville.com.