Shemaeah was last seen at her apartment in Yuma, Arizona on February 10, 1989. She lived with her mother, Valerie Gunnell, her nine-month-old sister, LaCresha Gunnell, and Valerie's boyfriend, Alvie Copeland Kiles, at the time. Kiles had moved in with the family in January 1989, four months after his release from prison. He had served four years for aggravated assault. He had a long-standing abuse problem with alcohol, cocaine and heroin.

Kiles was seen driving Valerie's car by several individuals on February 10. That afternoon, he told a neighbor he had killed Valerie and her daughters. He stated he killed Valerie in an argument over his stealing her food stamps to buy cocaine, and he killed the children because they began crying and screaming after witnessing their mother's death. Kiles lead his neighbor to Valerie's apartment and showed her the body. Shamaeah and LaCresha were missing from the scene. Kiles said he'd put their bodies in the Colorado River. Kiles made similar confessions to his mother and a family friend, saying he'd killed the children because "they could talk."

On February 11, the police went to the Gunnell residence and found Valerie's body wrapped in a blanket in the hallway. She had been beaten to death. The murder weapon, a tire iron, was present. There were indications of a struggle in Valerie's bedroom and blood all over the home, including two large pools of blood in the children's bedroom. A week after the murders, LaCresha's body was found in a canal in Mexico. She had been beaten to death. Shemaeah's remains were never located, but her blood was found on a mattress in her family's apartment.

Kiles was convicted of murdering all three members of the Gunnell family and was sentenced to death. A photograph of him is posted below this case summary. His conviction was later overturned on the grounds that he had an inadequate defense, but at his second trial he was convicted again of three counts of murder and two counts of child abuse in 2000. He was sentenced to death for Valerie's murder and life in prison for Shemaeah and LaCresha's murders. Kiles is awaiting execution. He does not dispute that he committed the murders, but he is appealing his death sentence. In 2009, he took his case to the Arizona Supreme Court, which upheld the verdict and sentence.

Foul play is suspected in Shemaeah's case due to the circumstances involved.

Above: Alvie Copeland Kiles