Dahseir Edward Jefferson was first arrested on aggravated-assault allegations before Susan Gehrke’s death changed the case days later.
TUCSON, Ariz. — A criminal case that began with two aggravated-assault allegations became a second-degree murder prosecution after one of the victims, 61-year-old Susan Marie Gehrke, died from injuries suffered during a confrontation at a Tucson apartment complex.
Dahseir Edward Jefferson, 27, was arrested July 28, four days after the alleged assaults, and initially booked on suspicion of injuring Gehrke and another person. By the following day, prosecutors had been told that one victim was not expected to survive, according to local reporting. Gehrke died July 29, and authorities added a second-degree murder charge. Jefferson was being held on $650,000 bond in the latest verified reporting reviewed for this story. That sequence explains the changing charges, but the filing of a murder count is an allegation, not a finding of guilt. Jefferson is entitled to the presumption of innocence unless prosecutors prove the case against him.
The evidence publicly described so far begins with a late-night confrontation on July 24. Tucson police officers and firefighters responded at about 10 p.m. to an apartment complex at 1201 N. Alvernon Way, where they encountered two injured people. Police said investigators determined the man and woman had been around an apartment patio when another man approached and became confrontational. Jefferson was later identified as the suspect. A probable cause statement reported by Law&Crime provides a more detailed account, alleging that the confrontation developed after Jefferson had been knocking on a neighboring apartment door.
Gehrke, who was visiting her boyfriend, went outside and told Jefferson the neighbor was not home, according to that statement. Her grandson, Frankie Zills, said Jefferson began swearing at her. Gehrke’s boyfriend then came out of his apartment and briefly argued with Jefferson, investigators allege. Jefferson is accused of punching the boyfriend in the face, causing him to fall backward and hit his head on a sidewalk. Police documented a cut below the man’s eye, a large head contusion and abrasions. He was taken to a hospital in critical condition. Reports reviewed for this article did not provide a reliable later update on that man’s health.
The second alleged assault occurred when Gehrke approached the fallen man, according to investigators. Police say Jefferson punched her in the face and she fell, striking her head. She was knocked unconscious, suffered a brain bleed and was intubated. Investigators also noted that the force damaged part of her dentures. Later local reporting cited an autopsy finding that Gehrke died of blunt-force trauma to the head, with the death classified as homicide. A medical examiner’s homicide classification addresses the manner of death and is separate from the legal decision about whether Jefferson committed second-degree murder.
That distinction is central to the criminal case. Prosecutors must establish not only that Gehrke died after the encounter but also the elements required for the specific offense they charged. The publicly available reports reviewed for this story do not provide the defense’s full account of the episode, and no trial testimony or verdict was found in those materials. They also do not establish a motive for the alleged attacks. Law enforcement has described a confrontation that escalated into violence, while family members say Gehrke was someone who disliked confrontation and had apparently moved toward her boyfriend after he was knocked down.
Jefferson’s arrest came after a short search. Detectives identified him during the initial investigation, police said, and members of a Tucson police community engagement squad found him July 28 near Speedway Boulevard and Country Club Road. He was taken into custody and booked on the two assault allegations. When Gehrke’s condition worsened and she died, homicide detectives became part of the case and the murder count was added. The timing matters because it shows why initial reports described an assault case while subsequent ones referred to a homicide: authorities were responding to a changing medical and legal situation rather than separate incidents.
Jefferson’s criminal record has since drawn substantial attention from Gehrke’s relatives and local media. Reporting based on court and Arizona corrections records says he was convicted of third-degree burglary in 2019. In 2021, he was convicted of aggravated assault with a victim bound or restrained, according to 13 News, while another assault charge was dismissed. He received a five-year prison sentence in February 2021 and was released in October 2024. The station also reported that Jefferson received several disciplinary findings while incarcerated, including for disorderly conduct and possession of prohibited items.
Those earlier cases are relevant background because they explain criticism voiced by Gehrke’s family after her death, but they must be kept separate from the new accusation. A prior conviction cannot substitute for evidence that a defendant committed a later crime. Frankie Zills questioned publicly why a person with Jefferson’s history had been released and argued that the system had failed his family. His criticism is a position taken by a grieving relative. Reports reviewed for this story did not establish that Jefferson’s release from the prior sentence was unlawful, nor did they show that a court had determined any public agency was legally responsible for what happened to Gehrke.
Gehrke’s relatives have also described what the charging documents cannot capture. They said she had survived cancer twice and had worked for much of her life to support her family. She was close to retiring and would have celebrated her 62nd birthday Aug. 3. A fundraising statement issued after her death described the family as preparing for a funeral at a time when they had expected to celebrate her birthday and plan for retirement. Those details do not affect the elements of the murder charge, but they explain why relatives have framed the death as the abrupt loss of a woman who had already survived serious illness and expected more time with her family.
The hospital period was especially difficult, according to relatives. Gehrke’s family said her injuries substantially changed her appearance. Her daughter, Felicia, told 13 News that a 15-year-old family member wanted to see Gehrke but she concluded he should not. Frankie Zills said his grandmother was not the type of person who wanted to be involved in confrontations and believed she was simply trying to check on her boyfriend. The probable cause statement supports the narrower factual point that Gehrke moved toward the boyfriend after he fell; any conclusion about exactly what she was thinking remains the family’s interpretation.
The other victim remains an important part of the prosecution’s factual foundation because investigators allege that he was assaulted immediately before Gehrke. Publicly described injuries indicate that both victims suffered harm after being knocked to the ground. Yet the available reporting leaves several questions unresolved, including the eventual medical condition of the male victim and Jefferson’s explanation of the confrontation. No reliable source reviewed for this article established that Jefferson and Gehrke knew one another beforehand, and investigators have not publicly announced evidence of a preplanned attack. The case as reported instead concerns a confrontation at a residential complex that allegedly escalated rapidly.
Law&Crime reported that Jefferson was scheduled for an Aug. 11 arraignment. The reliable reports reviewed for this article did not establish a later plea, trial verdict, sentencing or other final disposition. That means the most recent verified legal position remains an accusation of second-degree murder arising from Gehrke’s death, alongside the allegations concerning the second injured victim. As the prosecution proceeds, the prior convictions, the family’s criticism and the medical examiner’s findings provide context, but the court must decide the present charge on evidence tied to the July 24 incident.
Author note: Last updated September 9, 2026.