Patrick Nicholas Puckett was an 18-year-old student-athlete who was fatally shot on the evening of May 22, 2013, at an apartment complex on Ryan Circle in Lexington. Neighbors reported hearing loud noises that sounded like a fight before Puckett was found in a building doorway and taken to the University of Kentucky Hospital, where he died of a gunshot wound to the torso.

Puckett was a junior at Henry Clay High School, having transferred from Bryan Station High School where he had been a starting linebacker. Friends, family, and educators remembered him as outgoing and committed to helping others, including new and special-needs students. His death left a significant void in the community.

The investigation identified a suspect quickly. Ernest Wayne Wheeler III, 20 at the time, turned himself in two days after the shooting. A detective said a witness placed Wheeler and Puckett together in a breezeway just before a shot was heard, and that Wheeler later admitted to the witness and police that he shot Puckett after a struggle. Wheeler was charged with murder and the case was cleared by his arrest.

If anyone knew Patrick or was at the Ryan Circle apartments that night, does anyone have information that could add to the record?