Waco, Texas · April 4, 2024 A 22-year-old shot and killed, a family still asking who — and an official record that runs two days — then stops. This file documents both.
SUBJECT: AUSTIN IVY — WACO, TEXAS
Unsolved
🚶 Walk the File
Travel the case the way an investigator reads it — from a Waco obituary to a family's two-year campaign for answers, one page at a time.
8 pages · April 2024 → October 2026 · every page sourced
CrowdSleuth publishes photographs only from official releases, family releases, public records, or licensed sources — so this file shows the place, not the person. His family's campaign flyers carry his picture; those images are the family's, and none is published here. If his family shares one for this file, it will be added with their credit.
Location The Villages Apartments (the Summit at the Villages of Waco), 1100 block of N. 6th Street, Waco, Texas (police release; the family's flyer names the building) Date Thursday, April 4, 2024 Austin Ivy Age 22 · of Waco · Harmony Science Academy, class of 2020 · worked in customer service at Sonic in Waco from 2018 (per his obituary) Death Found with a gunshot wound in the 1100 block of N. 6th Street and taken to a hospital, where he died (police release); his obituary names the hospital as Baylor Scott & White Hillcrest in Waco. No suspect was found at the scene Status Unsolved. Police said on April 5, 2024 that detectives were still searching for a suspect; no arrest or later update has been located. The family offers a $10,000 reward for information leading to an arrest and conviction (the 2024 police release listed a Crime Stoppers reward of up to $2,000) The record The police record in this file is one release (April 4, 2024) and one identification update (April 5, 2024), both posted on the department's Facebook page. No autopsy ruling and no news coverage from April 2024 has been located
Austin Ivy
Austin Douglas Ivy was 22 years old and had lived in Waco his whole life. He was born there on September 14, 2001, graduated from Harmony Science Academy in Waco in 2020, belonged to the Top Hand Cowboy Church in Valley Mills, and had worked in customer service at Sonic in Waco since 2018. He enjoyed drawing and painting, and his obituary says he loved spending time with his family and friends. He died in the early hours of Thursday, April 4, 2024, at Baylor Scott & White Hillcrest Hospital in Waco.
What happened to him that night is on the public record in one brief official account. The Waco Police Department's release says officers were called to the 1100 block of N. 6th Street at 1:14 a.m., found a man with a gunshot wound, and took him to a hospital, where he died; no suspect was found at the scene — and the next day the department identified him and said detectives were still searching. Everything past that — which apartment, who he was with, how the shooter got in — is his family's telling. His mother, Jamie Lee Miller, and his family have carried the case ever since: flyers, a reward, a petition, anniversaries marked in public. No medical examiner's ruling and no news story from April 2024 has been located. This file records what exists, attributes what is claimed, and marks plainly what is missing.
A note on his name — the record does not agree on it. The Waco Police Department identified him as Austin Bowar, and the national gun-violence memorial lists him under that name. His obituary, placed by his family, gives his name as Austin Douglas Ivy; his mother's campaign uses Austin Ivy, and the family flyer Austin Bowar-Ivy. This file follows his family's usage, Austin Ivy, and records the police form here: an official identification is part of the record, and anyone searching for him under the name the police used should still find this file.
The timeline — full text
September 14, 2001Austin Douglas Ivy is born in Waco, Texas, the son of Joseph Ivy and Jamie Miller. He grows up in Waco, attends Harmony Science Academy, and after graduating in 2020 works in customer service at Sonic. — Obituary, Aderhold Funeral Home READ OBITUARY
Thursday, April 4, 2024 — 1:14 a.m.Waco police officers are called to the 1100 block of N. 6th Street and find a man with a gunshot wound. He is transported to a local hospital, where he later dies; officers are unable to locate a suspect on the scene. The department's release — signed by public information officer Cierra Shipley — calls it the fourth homicide investigation of 2024 and asks anyone with information to call 254-750-7500 or Crime Stoppers at 254-753-HELP (4357). His obituary names the hospital as Baylor Scott & White Hillcrest. His family's account adds the where, exactly: The Villages Apartments, Building K, Apartment #2, where he was visiting.UNVERIFIED— Waco Police Department release, Apr. 4, 2024 READ RELEASE; Obituary, Aderhold Funeral Home READ OBITUARY; Gun Memorial listing OPEN RECORD
Friday, April 5, 2024 — the identificationThe department updates its release: the victim has been identified as 22-year-old Austin Bowar, next of kin has been notified, and detectives are still searching for a suspect. It is the last statement by officials that this file's researchers could locate — on the public record, the case goes quiet here. — Waco Police Department release update, Apr. 5, 2024 READ RELEASE
April 11, 2024His funeral is held at Aderhold Funeral Home Chapel in West, Texas, with burial following at Bosqueville Cemetery. The family receives visitors the evening before. — Obituary, Aderhold Funeral Home READ OBITUARY
2024 – 2026 — the family's campaignHis mother, Jamie Lee Miller, becomes the public face of the effort to keep his case visible: memorial posts marking him "forever 22," the hashtag #justiceforaustinivy, and a family flyer offering a $10,000 reward for information leading to an arrest and conviction, with tips directed to the Waco Police Department and Crime Stoppers. Community and advocacy pages amplify the flyer; strangers light candles on his memorial page. Around the second anniversary, in April 2026, a candlelight vigil is held at Bosqueville Cemetery, where he is buried — documented in journalist Micah Wilson's posts on the case, which include his interview with Ivy's mother. — Family campaign materials and coverage of them, as documented in the sections below
The petitionA friend of Ivy's publishes a public petition, "Demand justice for Austin Ivy's unsolved murder," stating that more than two years on, those responsible have not been identified or held accountable. It asks the Waco Police Department to prioritize the investigation, re-evaluate all evidence, consider new leads and advanced forensic techniques, and be transparent with the public. — Change.org petition READ PETITION
March 2026 — the first located television coverageNearly two years after his death, KWTX airs a segment on the case. As it circulated on social media on March 20, 2026, the segment's on-screen headline reads: "Waco mother seeks justice two years after son's unsolved murder." It is the first television coverage of Austin Ivy's death that this file's researchers could locate — from any date. — KWTX segment, as posted March 20, 2026 (see Watch & listen)
October 13, 2026 — this file's records checkThis file opened on October 13, 2026 — and was corrected the same evening. The police release that now anchors it was published on the department's Facebook page in April 2024 and did not surface in this file's initial web searches; it was supplied to the research desk within the hour by someone who has followed this case since it happened. A medical examiner's ruling and news coverage from April 2024 remain unlocated. If officials release further records in this case, this file will be updated and the documents linked here. — CrowdSleuth research desk, Oct. 13, 2026
The unverified record — the family's and community's accounts
Officials have confirmed the shooting — the street, the hour, the gunshot wound (see the timeline). The details of the night beyond that one release — the apartment, the opened door — come from the family's campaign and the advocacy pages that cover it, not from any official document. Each account below is credited to its source and stamped accordingly.
What happened, per the family's accountAdvocacy coverage of the family's campaign (notably the page Missing & Murdered: Seeking Justice, and the WacoSpace and 84 TV community videos built around the family flyer) recounts that an unknown person opened the door of the apartment where Ivy was visiting at The Villages and opened fire, striking him multiple times. The family's flyer places the shooting at Building K, Apartment #2, 1100 block of N. 6th Street. The police release confirms a shooting in that block that night, but gives no apartment and no circumstances against which to check these details.UNVERIFIED— Advocacy coverage of the family campaign (see Watch & listen)
The lawsuit against the apartment complexThe same advocacy narration states that Ivy's parents sued the apartment complex for negligence and that the suit settled, after which the complex installed surveillance cameras and an armed guard. No court document or news report confirming the suit or the settlement has been located for this file.UNVERIFIED— Advocacy coverage of the family campaign
"Love Like Austin"Advocacy coverage also states that his mother founded a nonprofit, "Love Like Austin," to support other families who lose someone to violence — an extension of the campaign she already runs in his name.UNVERIFIED— Advocacy coverage of the family campaign
Public statements — who has said what, on the record
Jamie Lee Miller, his mother · public postsIn her public memorial posts, she writes of missing her son — "forever 22" — and says she needs answers about who took him. She asks anyone who knows something to come forward, and thanks the community that shares his flyer and keeps his name in circulation. — Her public posts, as documented in the coverage above
A friend of Austin Ivy · the petitionThe petition's author, a friend, asks the Waco Police Department to prioritize the investigation, re-evaluate the evidence, use advanced forensic techniques, and tell the public what is being done — writing that the family is still haunted by unanswered questions. — Change.org petition READ PETITION
Waco Police Department · release, April 4–5, 2024Public information officer Cierra Shipley's release gives the 1:14 a.m. call, the gunshot wound, the death at the hospital, and the suspect not found — and, in its April 5 update, identifies the victim as Austin Bowar and states that detectives were still searching. No later statement by the department, the McLennan County District Attorney, or any medical examiner about this case has been located. — Waco Police Department release (see Documents & reporting)
Statements are summarized in CrowdSleuth's words except where quotation marks are shown. Entries stamped UNVERIFIED carry an account or claim credited to its source but not established by investigators or documents.
People in the record
Austin Ivy· 22 · Waco, Texas · Harmony Science Academy, class of 2020
His parents Jamie Lee Miller · mother, of West, Texas — the public face of the family's campaign · Joseph Ivy · father, of Waco
His family A large family of brothers and sisters, named in his obituary.
Suspects None. No person has been publicly named by police as a suspect or person of interest in any record located for this file, and no arrest has been reported.
The records — what exists, and what has not been located
Obituary — placed by his family with Aderhold Funeral Home; the fullest single document in this file. Status: PUBLIC
Family flyer & petition — published by his family and a friend; they carry the reward offer and the campaign's asks. Status: PUBLIC
Waco Police Department release — issued April 4, 2024 and updated April 5, 2024 with the victim's identification; published on the department's Facebook page. Status: PUBLIC
Autopsy / medical examiner ruling — no ruling on cause or manner of death has been located in the public record. Status: NOT PUBLICLY LOCATED
News coverage from April 2024 — none located. The first located coverage of any kind is the KWTX segment of March 2026. Status: NONE LOCATED
Investigation status — police said on April 5, 2024 that detectives were still searching for a suspect. No later public update has been located. The family's position: the case is unsolved and open. Status: NO UPDATE LOCATED AFTER APR. 5, 2024
Gun Memorial — Austin Bowar — the national gun-violence memorial's page for him, under the "Bowar" form of his name; visitors leave candles and messages. OPEN
That is the whole of it. If you hold a document this file lacks — a release, a ruling, a news report from 2024 — the "Add to This Case" button below exists for exactly that.
Watch & listen
🎙️ The KWTX segment (March 2026). The local station's two-year-on report, headlined "Waco mother seeks justice two years after son's unsolved murder," as posted to social media. Watch →
🎙️ "Murder in Waco" — 84 TV. A community video built around the family's flyer: the apartment complex, his photographs, and the $10,000 reward. Watch →
🎙️ The advocacy narration. Missing & Murdered: Seeking Justice tells his story from the family's campaign materials — the source of several accounts recorded in the unverified section above. Watch →
CrowdSleuth links to recordings and videos; it does not copy or re-host them.
How to read this file: This is the thinnest file in the library, and it is published that way on purpose. The official record of Austin Ivy's death is two days of police statements from April 2024; almost everything beyond them comes from the people who loved him. That imbalance is itself part of his story. CrowdSleuth takes no position on what happened that night. If you know something about this case, the family's flyer directs tips to the Waco Police Department and Crime Stoppers.
Know a case that should be documented? Tell us the name, the place, and what you know — we research the public record from there.
Case File 014 · Austin Ivy
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