Jeremy M. Abshear, 48, was found with gunshot wounds in the desert near North Indian Canyon Drive in the predawn hours of May 16, 2023. Deputies responding to reports of gunfire discovered him on the ground around 5 a.m.; despite attempts to keep him alive until paramedics arrived, he was pronounced dead at the scene. The Riverside County Sheriff’s Department’s Central Homicide Unit took over the investigation and quickly widened the inquiry beyond a single shooter.

Within days investigators arrested North Palm Springs residents Mark Brian Barneck and his son Cody Barneck in Desert Hot Springs; prosecutors later filed murder charges against both that included an alleged sentencing enhancement for firing a gun and causing great bodily injury. Aisa Kirk Bailey of Palm Desert was arrested May 19, 2023, and charged alongside the Barnecks. Court reporting shows the three pleaded not guilty and were held on bail set at $1 million as the case moved forward.

The suspect list grew after the initial arrests: in late October 2023 authorities announced the arrest of Palm Desert resident Conner Turley, a juvenile at the time of the killing, and in March 2024 a 17-year-old from Desert Hot Springs was arrested and booked into juvenile hall on suspicion of murder. A trial for Bailey and the Barnecks was confirmed for January 22 at the Larson Justice Center, while the two juvenile cases continued separately. Does anyone have information about Abshear’s movements or contacts on May 16, 2023?