February 2, 2026 | By: Jessica Lee

This story is part of a collaborative project between Project: Cold Case and the University of North Florida’s Applied Journalism class.

Destiny McClain had a habit of helping those in need, whether they were small business owners or homeless people.

If Destiny and her three sisters went to the store and saw somebody outside hungry and needing help, they would go in and buy groceries for themselves and for the person outside, according to Destiny’s mother, Brenda Gilliam-Miller. “They see their need,” she said. “So, they just go to help supply that need.”

Destiny was fatally shot on July 18, 2021, while getting food from a small taco truck in Phoenix, Arizona. Several bullets were fired towards the crowd she was in, but only one hit 23-year-old Destiny. She died hours later in the hospital.

The family has now gone years without justice for Destiny. The only lead is blurry images of a black 4-door sedan spotted in security footage near the scene.

Destiny grew up in Phoenix, Arizona, with three sisters, and the four of them were as close as could be. Growing up, their sisterly love fed Destiny’s outgoing and extroverted personality.

According to her mother, she was the type of person to walk up to strangers at the mall and stop them just to let them know they were beautiful. “She was a beautiful young lady,” she said. “But she didn’t see herself in that manner.”

Destiny’s sisters all had different hair textures, some with ringlet curls and others with loose curls. Destiny got her straight hair from her mother, who is half Korean, and would try different products to coax out a curl pattern.

According to her mother, when she received compliments on her wavy hair, she would say, “Oh yeah, I haven’t combed it in four days!”

Despite her outgoing personality, Destiny was a homebody. She kept herself busy at home with all her pets. At one point, her mother had to tell her she couldn’t have any more pets. She had multiple turtles, a cat, and a dog.

Her dog was an older pit bull named Capone. Destiny’s mother recalls worrying about how hard it would be for Destiny when Capone died. But it was the opposite. And in the days after Destiny’s death, Capone waited for her to come home, hanging out in areas of the house where he might find her. Soon afterwards, Capone died, too.

On July 18, 2021, Destiny’s loved ones experienced every family’s worst nightmare. Destiny was ordering a quesadilla from a local taco truck when shots rang out towards the group she was in. According to the Phoenix Police Department, the unknown suspects were shooting from a vehicle in the area. Surveillance footage of the suspected vehicle is the only lead the police have had in years.

According to her youngest sister, Faith, Destiny only went out that night because she was being a good friend. One of her friends was going through a rough time, and they all decided to go out to cheer him up. Otherwise, Destiny preferred to get some drinks, come back home with her friends or sisters, and watch a movie. “And that’s just the person she was,” said her mother.

Her brother, Akil Miller, was the last person to contact Destiny. Minutes before she was fatally shot, the two exchanged a few text messages. Akil asked her for a blanket, and she told him to go ask Faith for an extra one.

And in the years following Destiny’s death, the family slowly took keepsakes from her room. While some of her sisters took clothes that showed her funky style, one of her sisters took her Winnie-the-Pooh blanket. “She loved Winnie-the-Pooh,” said her mother. “It’s one of those things that just stuck with her through her childhood.”

Now, in front of her home is a fenced-in memorial garden where family and friends can sit in remembrance of Destiny’s life. Her mother decorated the garden with lights, flowers, and of course, a Winnie-the-Pooh statue. Over the years, many of her loved ones have gotten matching Winnie-the-Pooh tattoos in honor of their sweet Destiny.

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Anyone with information concerning Destiny McClain’s unsolved homicide is asked to call the Phoenix Police Department at (602) 262-6151. To remain anonymous and possibly be eligible for a reward, call Silent Witnesses at (480) 948-6377.

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