The Shocking Death of an Atlanta Filmmaker

The clip posted to Instagram April 30th by Leevon Daniels highlighted what he loved to do most: make movies. Three days later, the 26-year-old Conyers, Georgia man was found dead of a gunshot wound. At press time, the circumstances that led to his death remain a mystery.

It started on the night of Saturday May 2nd. Daniels and his girlfriend, who he had just introduced to his family, attended a house party. According to local reports, he was also celebrating the signing of a contract to make his next film.

The couple later wound up at Red Hill Restaurant & Lounge in Lithonia, which lies east of Atlanta. Daniels' girlfriend eventually decided to go home on her own, leaving Daniels behind. From a report by FOX 5 Altanta:

"She was talking to him on the phone at about 2:15 a.m. and she heard a scuffle," his aunt Carol Ann George-Roach says, "and the phone went dead." Police say one more call was made from Daniels' phone, about 15 minutes later. They're working with the U.S. Marshals to figure out who it went to.

Investigators say Daniels either got into a car with someone he knew, or was forced inside. His body was found just blocks away, next to the railroad tracks near Main Street, after 5 a.m.

Anyone with information about these events of May 2nd-3rd is being urged to contact local police at (678) 267-4911. With today's preponderance of security and road cameras, it's reasonable to assume that police have other leads, besides the final phone call.

Daniels' most recent listed film is the 2013 feature comedy Mutumbo the Lost Prince. RIP.

Update (February 2nd, 2016):
Five teens have been arrested in connection with Daniels' murder and police have identified a sixth suspect. From the Atlanta Constitution-Journal-Channel 2 report:

Police claim the suspects approached Daniels near a sports bar and demanded his cellphone. Daniels then threw his phone at the group, and one person allegedly shot him, police said. Roosevelt Smith, the Lithonia chief of police, called the killing "senseless."

He told Channel 2 a tip led Lithonia investigators to the teen suspects.

[Image via: Instagram]