GOULD, Ark. – After Ventrell McKinzie was shot and killed in a Gould residence in Oct. 2021, family members thought an arrest would be made shortly. Weeks turned into months, but they learned this week that closure could soon come.

“It’s still hard to talk about sometimes because of how long it’s taken,” said Dwight McKenzie, Ventrell McKinzie’s uncle.

Dwight McKinzie said he received a call Wednesday from authorities, who told him charges would soon be filed in the case. 

“I was like, ‘Oh, okay. Something has been done,'” Dwight McKinzie said.

Since October, people in Gould continued to wonder what the next steps would be. In the small town, people had their suspicions about who killed Ventrell McKinzie, and Dwight McKinzie could not give sufficient answers.

“People around here were kind of shook up about that,” Dwight McKinzie said. “They’re still shook up because the person who did it is still on the street.”

No arrests have been made.

“The investigation status remains open and active,” Bill Sadler, a spokesperson for Arkansas State Police, said in a statement.

Kyle Hunter, the prosecuting attorney for Jefferson and Lincoln Counties, said charges are being reviewed but they have not been filed.

Dwight McKinzie said an arrest will prompt closure for the family, but any news was welcome.

“Knowing the charges that are about to be brought up, that’s enough for now,” Dwight McKinzie said.

Ventrell McKinzie’s six children were left without a father when he was killed. Dwight McKinzie said the whole family deserves for this case to end with charges.

“We just stuck with it, continued to pray and knew one day, we would get closure,” Dwight McKinzie said.