Vigil remembers Trotwood homicide victim

UPDATE @ 9:16 p.m. (April 4): Community members, family and friends attended a prayer vigil this afternoon in honor of homicide victim Destiny Mills.

The vigil was held outside the Meadowlark Apartments in the 4900 block of Biddison Avenue in Trotwood.

The 20-year-old Huber Heights woman was shot March 24 while she was sitting on a couch with her boyfriend and several friends inside one of the apartments. She died on the way to a local hospital.

No arrests were made.

UPDATE @ 4:58 p.m. (March 30): Police have developed "several persons of interest: in the shooting death of 19-year-old Destiny Mills of Jackson Twp., but they still need the public's help to find the suspect.

Mills was with her boyfriend and other acquaintances in the early morning hours of March 24 when someone, standing outside an apartment building in the 4900 block of Biddison Avenue, fired 10 to 15 rounds through the front door.

One of those rounds hit Mills, killing her.

“Our investigators have talked with many witnesses from the scene and at the apartment complex,” Trotwood Capt. John Porter said in a prepared statement released Monday afternoon.

Porter said police believe there are other witnesses “still out there who have not yet come forward.”

Porter said the police department was using the Monday afternoon news conference as a way to reach out to potential witnesses.

Anyone who has information about what happened is asked to call Crime Stoppers at 937-333-STOP (7867) or by logging onto miamivalleycrimestoppers.com to leave information. Anyone who calls or logs on can remain anonymous.

UPDATE @ 9:06 p.m. (March 24): A Huber Heights woman fatally shot Tuesday morning in a Trotwood apartment was likely not the intended target, and police say the gunfire may be connected to an altercation earlier in the night.

Destiny Mills, believed to be 20, died while being transported by medic to Good Samaritan Hospital following a shooting in the 4900 block of Biddison Avenue around 12:30 a.m. Preliminary autopsy results were not immediately available, but her death is being investigated as a homicide, officials said.

Officers were called to the apartment on reports of shots fired, and found eight to 10 bullets went through the door and walls, striking Mills.

Mills was lying on a couch in the apartment at the time of the shooting, police said. She was struck in the left shoulder during the gunfire, according to Trotwood Capt. John Porter.

There was an altercation at the apartment about two hours prior to the gunfire, which Porter said may have prompted the shooting. That argument involved another woman— not Mills— and officers believe Mills was not at the apartment when that fight occurred. Porter said they are trying to locate the other woman, who may be able to identify the shooter, described as a male in his 20s.

Officers found a blood trail leading from the complex, but are unsure if the blood is from another victim or a potential suspect who fled the scene. A K9 was called to the scene but was unsuccessful in finding either a victim or suspect, police said.

Anyone with information is asked to call Trotwood police at (937) 854-7200.

UPDATE @ 11:59 a.m.: The Montgomery County Coroner's Office identified the victim as 20-year-old Destiny Mills of Jackson Twp.

UPDATE @ 5:40 a.m.: Trotwood police are waiting for a warrant to search an apartment after a fatal shooting there this morning. Officers say the woman who died on the way to the hospital was lying on a couch when someone sprayed the apartment with bullets.

There were as many as eight people inside at the time.

UPDATE @ 3:45 a.m.: Trotwood police say a woman shot early this morning died while being taken to the hospital.

Officers responded to the 4900 block of Biddison Avenue around 12:30 a.m. on reports of shots fired into an apartment. Police found eight to 10 bullets were shot into the apartment, hitting at least one person, according to Trotwood police Capt. John Porter.

Police identify the victim as a black woman in her 20s who was shot in the shoulder area. She was taken by medics to Good Samaritan Hospital, but died during the trip to the hospital.

Officers found a blood trail leading from the complex, but are unsure if the blood is from another victim or a potential suspect who fled the scene. A K9 was called to the scene but was unsuccessful in finding either a victim or suspect.

Porter says there were a large number of people inside the apartment at the time of the shooting. Also there are indications that this could be related to an ongoing argument coming from that address, and the shooting is not believed to be random.

Witnesses are being interviewed by officers and are being cooperative, according to Porter.

Police do not have a description of a suspect or vehicle that may have left the scene.

FIRST REPORT

Police and medics have responded to a reported shooting in the 4900 block of Biddison Avenue in Trotwood.

Details are few at this point, but police have set up crime scene tape around the scene and have requested a K-9 to track at least one suspect who ran from the scene.

We have a crew on the scene and will update this page when more information is available.