Abstract: Shortly before 11:00 p.m. on July 22, 2003, Dr. Thomas Gay, a sixty-one-year-old respected family physician, was just returning from work. He pulled his silver Lincoln Continental into the driveway of his stately brick home in the Mitchellville area of Prince George’s County, Maryland, got out, and closed the door. When he turned, he encountered Arthur Royal, nineteen, standing a few feet away with his finger on the trigger of a .22 caliber semiautomatic handgun. A few seconds passed. Arthur pulled the trigger, shooting Dr. Gay in the face before robbing him, careful to avoid the blood pooling underneath his twisted frame. Moments after Arthur had fled in a car driven by his friend, Christopher Kargbo, Dr. Gay’s cell phone began to ring on the ground next to him. It was a call from his wife, oblivious to what had just happened, waiting for him inside.
Fifteen minutes later, Dr. Gay’s American Express card was used to buy sneakers, sports jerseys, and stereo equipment on Footlocker.com and SoundDomain.com. Three days later his organs were harvested, and he was pronounced dead. Thirteen days later, Arthur and Chris were arrested and charged with murder. Dr. Gay never regained consciousness, the weapon was never found, and his wallet was set alight, its ashes tossed into a garbage can between here and the never-promised land.
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