Man charged in 2017 killing of aspiring rapper, best friend at Wedgewood apartments

More than seven years after two men were killed at a West Side apartment complex, Columbus police have charged a man in connection with their deaths.

Paul A. Smith, 24, of the South Side, has been charged with two counts of murder in connection with the Jan. 23, 2017, double homicide of 22-year-old Caleb Killen and 22-year-old Jawuan Reynolds.

Court records say Smith was tied with physical evidence to the men's deaths. Both men died after being shot in the head, according to court records.

Reynolds was an aspiring rapper who went by the stage name Fam Staxx . Killen was his best friend. The two were found dead around 9:30 p.m. inside Reynolds' car, which was parked outside a building on the 3700 block of Eakin Road in the Wedgewood Village apartment complex .

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A 911 call from a woman who lived nearby said a man had been trying to set the car on fire, but ran away and the fire never ignited, according to The Dispatch's reporting at the time.

Reynolds would often shoot music videos at the Corner Market Drive Thru near Sullivant Avenue and South Murray Hill Road. Some of his more popular videos included "Killumbus" and "Westside Mobbin."

Franklin County Municipal Court records provide little detail about Smith's possible motivation in the shooting or how he came to be identified as a suspect. The court records indicate police feel there are multiple people involved, identifying Smith as "one of the assailants."

Smith is currently being held in the Franklin County jail. Court records show Smith is scheduled to have his first court appearance Monday.

bbruner@gannett.com

This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Man charged in 2017 killing of aspiring rapper, best friend at Wedgewood apartments