It was shaping up to be a lengthy evening in Huntington, West Virginia. Mayor Patrick Farrell addressed a gathering of ten city council members, dressed in a white shirt and dark blazer adorned with an American flag pin. Behind him, constituents and residents from nearby communities took their seats, some with arms folded, others fixing him with an unwavering stare. Less than a week before the July 13 meeting, a 33‑year‑old man named Jackie Harper was shot and killed in the city. The homicide was precisely the type of crime Farrell had pledged to curb. Yet, a development in the investigation emerged just days after the killing, offering a glimmer of hope for the mayor.