Beyonce Wint, 19, Was Found Shot In The Street 150 Miles Away From Home
*Update 1/2/2024* Isaiah Williams was convicted for causing Beyonce Wint’s death. Two other suspects, Antwaun Twitty and Idelisse Armstead, were also charged but took a plea deal. They later testified against Williams. You can read details of the trial here and here.
Original Story:
Prosecutors are still building a case against the three people they believe were responsible for the murder of 19-year-old Beyonce Wint. However, circumstances surrounding the tragic events continue to puzzle investigators. It’s reported that the teen was from New York City, yet authorities haven’t determined why she was visiting Troy, New York, in the upstate area. On September 17, 2019, Beyonce Wint was found dead in the street with a single gunshot wound to the head just before 4:00 a.m., and since that time, detectives have been trying to piece together how and why this young woman’s life was taken from her.
Three months after the murder, the Troy Police Department issued a statement announcing the arrest of two suspects: Idelisse Armstead and Antwaun Twitty.
“Earlier today, a cadre of detectives and partners traveled to New York City where they located and arrested Idelisse N. Armstead of Brooklyn. TPD Detectives transported Armstead to the Troy Police Station for processing, and is currently lodged in the Rensselaer County Jail. She will appear in Rensselaer County Court at a later date,” they shared in December 2019.
“While that was occurring, Detectives and partners also traveled to Boston, MA to locate and arrest the second suspect – Antwaun Twitty of Burlington, VT. Twitty was taken into custody at Logan International Airport and will be lodged in Massachusetts while awaiting extradition to New York.”
Days before Beyonce was found by a Troy resident shot in the street, she reportedly spent a few days in Vermont. The SF Gate reports that the teen had previously lived in group homes throughout New York City, so police were chasing leads in hopes of determining her ties to either Vermont or Troy, New York. Authorities were also searching for a third suspect, and in January 2020, 21-year-old Isaiah Williams was also taken into custody. He was arrested for shoplifting as a Macy’s department store. He lied about his name, but a fingerprint analysis proved his identity, and Williams was quickly turned over to Troy police.
In January 2020, prosecutors asked for a judge to issue a protective order for a witness. Defense attorneys argued that it was a tactic to have evidentiary materials shielded from them so that the prosecution could hide what knowledge this witness may have had of the crime. This case is ongoing.
“The Troy Police Department wishes to thank the many law enforcement partners that have also logged many hours of work in helping to bring the killers of Beyonce Wint to justice,” the department stated. “The investigation is continuing. Anyone with information regarding this case is asked to call Troy Police Detectives.”
