Stella May Mouse Vaughn was 17 when she was killed in Terre Haute, Indiana, on April 26, 1992. A standout athlete in volleyball, basketball and track with a noted talent for the high jump, she was described as well liked in her community and on her school teams.

After Stella refused his advances, Billings reportedly cornered her in a bathroom, beat her, pulled her hair and then shot her with a 20-gauge shotgun. Billings was arrested, tried and convicted of accidental shooting; he received an eight-and-a-half-year prison sentence and was released in 1997.

Stella’s death left her family and community with deep grief and troubling questions about how rejection escalated to lethal violence. If anyone knew Stella, William Billings, or witnessed what happened that day, information could still shed light on this case.