Dewayne Barfield

Dewayne Luther Barfield Jr. was an ambitious and beloved young man with a bright future ahead of him. Just days before his life was cut short, the 18-year-old had graduated from the LEAP Academy Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) High School in Camden, New Jersey. He was preparing to attend Lincoln University in the fall. Friends and family remembered him for a smile that could light up a dark room. Though his obituary lists him as a resident of Camden, New Jersey, news reports at the time of his death identified him as living in Newark, Delaware.

On the night of Monday, June 30, 2014, Dewayne’s promising future came to a violent end. At approximately 10:09 p.m., New Castle County Police officers were dispatched to the unit block of Heron Court in the Sparrow Run Townhouses community near Bear, Delaware, following reports of gunfire. When they arrived, they found Dewayne lying on the ground. He had been shot multiple times in his upper torso. Officers administered first aid until paramedics arrived and rushed him by ambulance to Christiana Hospital. Tragically, Dewayne was pronounced dead at the hospital.

The New Castle County Police Department immediately launched a homicide investigation. Detectives worked for weeks to piece together the events that led to the fatal shooting. They sought to understand what brought Dewayne to Heron Court that night and who was responsible for his death. The motive for the shooting was not immediately clear to the public, and police did not release details about a possible confrontation or argument that may have preceded the gunfire.

After nearly a month of investigation, authorities identified a suspect. On July 22, 2014, following an indictment from the Delaware Attorney General's Office, New Castle County Police arrested 15-year-old Michael Walley at his home in the 1400 block of Chelmsford Circle in Newark. The arrest brought a significant development to the case, highlighting the tragic youth of both the victim and the accused.

Michael Walley was charged as an adult with first-degree murder, possession of a deadly weapon during the commission of a felony, possession of a deadly weapon by a person prohibited, and possession with intent to deliver a controlled substance. At the time of the arrest, police did not publicly release a motive for the killing or explain the connection of the drug charge to the homicide. The case proceeded through the justice system, though the final court disposition and sentencing details were not widely reported in the initial news coverage.

Family and friends mourned the profound loss of a young man on the cusp of adulthood. A funeral service for Dewayne was held on July 9, 2014, at St. Matthew's United Methodist Church in Delair, New Jersey, followed by his interment at Harleigh Cemetery in Camden. The community was left to grapple with another life lost to gun violence, a recurring tragedy in the area.

The case against Michael Walley moved forward, and in May 2015, he pleaded guilty to the lesser charge of manslaughter. In September 2015, a judge sentenced him to 15 years in prison. The resolution of the court case brought a measure of legal closure, but it could not undo the permanent loss suffered by Dewayne Barfield's loved ones. His death remains a painful reminder of a life full of potential that was senselessly extinguished.