Bala Gopal Paruchuri was 40 and owned the Sunhouse convenience store in Longs, South Carolina. He was a father of two. On the night of January 2, 2015, he was shot multiple times during an armed robbery at the store and was found dead inside; several shell casings were recovered. A witness who had been in the store’s bathroom said they saw three masked men robbing Paruchuri and heard one of them demand that Paruchuri give it up before shots were fired.

Investigators linked three men—Jerome Jenkins, McKinley Daniels, and James Daniels—to Paruchuri’s killing and to a string of violent crimes in the area, including another fatal convenience store robbery later that month. Evidence recovered during a search of a person of interest’s home in nearby Loris tied the three to the crimes, and they were arrested and charged in connection with Paruchuri’s death. Reported court outcomes include convictions and heavy sentences for all three defendants.

Did anyone in the Longs area know Paruchuri or notice anything unusual at the Sunhouse around January 2, 2015?