A Homicide Bureau task force working on unsolved murders has joined in the effort to find those responsible for a Valencia man killed by “several apparent gunshot wounds in his upper torso” on Dec. 31, 2023, according to L.A. County Superior Court records.
It’s been nearly two years since Devin Marshall was found by Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff’s Station deputies bleeding to death as he sat in his Toyota Rav4 in the 25700 block of Vista Fairway Drive around 4 a.m. on the last day of the year.
The deputy pulled Marshall from the truck and rendered first aid, according to the investigator’s report in court records, but Marshall succumbed to his injuries at Henry Mayo Newhall Hospital about three hours later.
Homicide Bureau detectives have only identified one “person of interest,” Vincent Williams, a man who knew Marshall and was in a bar fight with him weeks before the murder.
Williams was arrested in the hours after Marshall’s murder as he returned to his home on Vista Fairway near the murder scene.
Evidence gathered by detectives has the two walking together minutes before Marshall’s truck is seen slowly rolling into another parked car, according to security footage detectives obtained. Neighbors awakened by a commotion recalled hearing three gunshots, which is also noted in the search warrant detectives filed.
In the courthouse search warrants, detectives laid out their suspected timeline of events leading up to Marshall’s murder but also noted they’re withholding some information they have.
The evidence shows the two walking together on Masters Cup Way, with Marshall walking his dog, right before he was shot, according to the search warrant.
The search warrant request also notes that detectives previously recovered ammunition and a firearm during a search of Williams’ home after his arrest shortly after the shooting.
Detectives previously indicated they are waiting on the results from forensic tests in connection with the shooting, but they have not commented on the status of the firearm recovered or any tests that may have been conducted.
Williams was released less than 12 hours later, according to Sheriff’s Department custody records available online.
Now detectives hope past phone records will shed more light on the motive behind Marshall’s murder, which they have yet to publicly discuss.
One warrant indicates an altercation the two had at a bar one week before the murder resulted in Williams somehow losing his phone, which Marshall recovered. Williams’ cousin later helped him get his phone back from Marshall on Dec. 24, 2023, according to court records.
A Homicide Bureau official in charge of the investigation did not respond to a request for comment Friday regarding the status of the investigation.
Custody records did not indicate any additional arrests in connection with the case as of the publication of this story.
The Santa Clarita Valley has recorded two murders so far in 2025.
Menghan Zhuang, who went by Emily King, a Chinese national and CalArts student, was murdered in her Newhall apartment. Jack Minh Terry, 22, of Garden Grove, is charged with one count of murder in her Feb. 4 death, and he’s due back in court later this month.
Gale Mortimer, 81, was charged with one count of murder in the strangulation death of his wife, 80-year-old Penny Mortimer.
