On July 26, 2019, Darryl Antonio ’Dee’ Merrill Jr., 26, was shot and killed during a violent confrontation at the Somers Cove Apartments in Crisfield, Maryland. The conflict began after a verbal argument between Bobby Lee Tenner Jr. and an older woman related to Merrill. Witnesses say Merrill intervened and confronted Tenner; the confrontation escalated to a physical altercation, and Tenner allegedly pulled a .38 caliber handgun and shot Merrill in the forehead. Emergency personnel could not revive Merrill, who was pronounced dead in the front yard of the complex in the presence of his mother and children.

Merrill was a father of five and is described as a beloved son, father, and brother. Tenner fled, discarded the weapon, and was arrested the next day by Somerset County deputies. He was later convicted by a jury of voluntary manslaughter, possession of a firearm by a person with a crime of violence conviction, and use of a firearm in a violent crime, and sentenced to 45 years with a 10-year mandatory minimum.

Does anyone have information about Merrill’s life in Crisfield or knew him and his family?