A 31-year-old man from North Carolina, Troy Marquise Gillard, has been arrested and charged with first-degree murder after allegedly shooting a 67-year-old woman named Kathryn Garton Holmes.
The tragic incident occurred during a meeting arranged through an online marketplace.
On May 24, Greensboro Police Department officers responded to reports of a shooting and car crash on Denny Road, approximately 95 miles northwest of Charlotte, North Carolina.
Upon arrival, they discovered Holmes' car in a ditch and found her suffering from a gunshot wound to the neck.
She was immediately taken to a hospital but succumbed to her injuries two days later.
In addition to the murder charge, Gillard faces several other charges including robbery with a firearm or dangerous weapon, discharging a firearm into occupied property, being a felon in possession of a firearm, and being a fugitive from justice.
Authorities revealed that Holmes was driving to meet Gillard for a prearranged transaction through an online marketplace when she was shot.
She intended to sell an item to Gillard, although the specific item remains unclear.
According to a report from WGHP, a Fox affiliate in High Point, North Carolina, Holmes was driving her 2022 Volkswagen Taos SUV when she was shot.
The bullet hit her neck, causing paralysis and preventing her from taking her foot off the accelerator, which led to her car crashing into a ditch.
An arrest warrant later revealed that Gillard stole Holmes' engagement ring and wedding band, valued at $10,515.
Shortly after the shooting, a suspicious person was reported entering an unoccupied home near the crime scene.
Police searched the home and, while it was empty, they discovered that it was Gillard's family house.
The Greensboro Police’s Violent Criminal Apprehension Team, along with the Winston-Salem Police Department, arrested Gillard on Wednesday.
This isn't Gillard's first encounter with the law. In 2016, he pleaded guilty to first-degree felony carjacking.
Currently, he is held in the Guilford County Jail without bond and is scheduled to appear in court again on October 1.
If convicted, Gillard faces a potential life sentence without parole or even the death penalty.
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