June 8, 2026 | By: Lily Mitchell

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

It was an early evening in the Smith household, and Porschia Smith had started to make spaghetti with cheesy garlic bread for her family for dinner. The scent of freshly diced garlic and crispy parmesan filled the house. A pot full of noodles sat on the back corner of the stove as a pan of tomato sauce sizzled on the front right burner. The sizzling was almost enough to distract from the cicadas singing right outside the window.

Porschia made extra that night because she anticipated feeding her five kids, as usual, plus a few more. Her eldest son, Shyheim, was bringing his friends over to hang out- just like he always did. The group of boys came in and greeted her before they headed into Shyheim’s homemade studio to make some noise.

But the studio has been silent since 2021 after Shyheim was critically injured inside his home in the middle of the night. He was taken to the hospital and died at 21 years old. The person who killed him hasn’t been caught and his case has never been solved.

Shyheim lived in Molino, Florida, a small town situated just outside of Pensacola. It’s a rural community that consists of about 1,600 people. He was the oldest of five siblings- two boys and three girls.

His father, Mareese Smith, named Shyheim after a musician associated with Wu-Tang Clan and even gave him the middle name Raekwon – the name of an actual member of the famous hip hop group. Mareese was always into music and his son shared that interest, too. Mareese noticed that Shyheim heard music differently, quickly recognizing a pattern or bouncing to the beat. It started when he was just a little boy with a wild imagination running around the house giving performances for free.

“He would make a microphone out of anything and sing into it,” his father said.

As time went on, the fake microphone turned into a real one. He went from listening to Lil’ Wayne’s punch in lyrics to creating his own. At first, he wasn’t serious, just recording tracks on his phone with friends for fun. As time went on, Shyheim began to dedicate more of his time to music.

“Shyheim and his friends would always be in his studio making music,” his mother said.

After high school, Shyheim moved in with his father, who lived in Pensacola. One day during the move, Mareese heard a light thud on the wall. Then it happened again… and again. He walked out into the living room to find Shyheim with his back to him looking at the wall. Two soundproof panels had been nailed up and a third was on its way.

Shyheim always worked hard for what he wanted. He continued to produce music despite people telling him that he wasn’t good or it wasn’t serious. Once he set himself on something, said his father, there was no way that he could be diverted. Of course he wanted to become a big name, but if it wasn’t alongside his friends he didn’t want it.

From the start, Shyheim made music with the same group of friends. They met each other through making music and stuck together. They were his closest friends and together they would create beats for one another and have features on each other’s songs. Shyheim’s success was their success.

When Shyheim was 21, his mother decided to give him his childhood home. His girlfriend was pregnant, and the couple wanted to move back to Molino to have more space. He was there at his mother’s home on the night of June 14, 2021, when everything went terribly wrong.

Early in the morning on June 15, Shyheim was shot around 1:45 a.m. and was rushed to the hospital. But his injury was fatal and he died shortly afterwards. He left behind his girlfriend and an unborn son.

Although no one has yet to be charged in his death, his family believes Shyheim had been helping one of his friends who was struggling, and someone wasn’t happy about his help. Shyheim was giving in nature. “If he didn’t have much, he would still give it,” his father said.

There were times at his dad’s apartment where Mareese would come home and find people sleeping in the living room. Turns out they had found themselves in a tight spot and Shyheim had extended a helping hand. He did this often.

Every year on Shyheim’s birthday, his friends and family will get together and do something, whether it’s dinner or just hanging out. For them, it is not necessarily about what they do to remember Shyheim, but that they’re all together.

And he lives on in his music. His parents say they listen to his songs as often as they can. His girlfriend likes to listen to his music as well and watch old music videos. Even though his son won’t meet him, Shyheim already knew him.

In one song dedicated to his son, he sings, “You was the one who made me put my life together, you put that change in me.”

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Anyone with information concerning Shyheim Smith’s murder is asked to call the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office at (850) 436-9620. To remain anonymous and possibly be eligible for a reward, call Crime Stoppers at (850) 433-7867

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