Jani Barker was a 15-year-old freshman at Fairfield High Preparatory School in Alabama who loved to dance and cook. Her family, who called her "Cupcake," described the teenager as "always happy" and a "special person." Her cousin said Jani had her whole life ahead of her, with graduation and prom on the horizon. "She is not a statistic," her cousin said. "I want everyone to know she is loved."
On the afternoon of Saturday, May 27, 2023, Jani was shot in the 5000 block of Parkway Alley in her hometown of Fairfield. It was around 3:43 p.m. She was rushed to Children's of Alabama hospital but died from her injuries. She would have turned 16 the following month.
The Jefferson County Sheriff's Office investigated the homicide and quickly made an arrest. A 15-year-old boy, identified as Jani's boyfriend, was taken into custody and held on a murder charge.
As the community grieved, the case took a shocking turn just two days later.
On May 29, another teenager, 17-year-old Tatyanna Hannah, was shot and killed in Fairfield. Tatyanna was a friend of Jani's sister and had been with Jani's family just hours before her own death. Detectives soon announced that they believed the two fatal shootings were connected.
The investigation revealed that the 15-year-old suspect charged with Jani's murder was the younger brother of 20-year-old twins, Ke'Andre and Ke'Autay Fuller. After a manhunt, both brothers were taken into custody in early June. The Jefferson County District Attorney's Office issued capital murder warrants against them for the death of Tatyanna Hannah. They also faced multiple counts of attempted murder and a charge for discharging a firearm into an occupied vehicle.
As of June 2023, the 15-year-old suspect in Jani Barker's murder was being held in juvenile detention. The Fuller twins were being held with no bond as the cases against all three suspects proceeded through the legal system.
