Joseph O’Donnell was 19 when he was found dead at the Acacia Apartments on Solana Way in Temecula, California. Deputies arrived about 6 a.m. on December 15, 2015, after a call about an unconscious male; O’Donnell had sustained a fatal wound and was pronounced dead at the scene. Homicide investigators were called in to examine the incident.

Investigators say O’Donnell met with 19-year-old Cheyenne Armstrong in the apartment complex parking lot around 2 a.m.; the pair had attended Temecula Valley High School and Armstrong had texted wanting to catch up. A disagreement erupted during the meeting. Authorities allege Armstrong and her then-boyfriend Zachary Peter Shumaker, 22, were both involved: Shumaker confronted O’Donnell with a pocket knife and stabbed him in the chest, and O’Donnell collapsed and died shortly after. Phone records and statements from O’Donnell’s roommate were used to reconstruct the events and led to arrests.

Both defendants were later sentenced for their roles; family members described O’Donnell as peace-loving and not prone to violence.