A 21-year-old Kenly man has pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter in the shooting death of 12-year-old Kyrell Stewart, avoiding a second-degree murder conviction nearly a year after the boy was killed inside a crowded Clayton apartment. Ty’ryn Anthony Zah’rel Washington entered the plea on Oct. 6, according to court records, closing out a case that had shifted charges twice since the shooting last November.
Court records show Washington pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter in Kyrell’s death, according to the Raleigh News & Observer. The outlet reported it was still working to find out details about the plea agreement, and Washington’s sentence was not detailed in the available court record. The case had moved from an initial involuntary manslaughter charge on Nov. 28, 2025, the day of the shooting, to a second-degree murder charge filed Dec. 3, 2025, before ending in the voluntary manslaughter plea.
Kyrell was shot and killed on Nov. 28, 2025, in Johnston County, the newspaper’s earlier reporting on the case noted. An eyewitness told police that Washington had been handling a brown handgun when it discharged and struck the boy, according to search warrants cited in that report. Another eyewitness described the shooting as accidental.
A Crowded Apartment, A Chaotic Scene
The shooting happened inside a crowded apartment in Clayton. WSPA reported that police said there were 20 to 30 people inside the apartment when the shooting occurred, during what authorities described as a fight…