On a Tuesday afternoon in October 2021, first responders in Troup County, Georgia, were called to what appeared to be a single-car accident on Highway 18. Upon arrival, they discovered 29-year-old Akelia Ware unresponsive inside her wrecked Honda Accord. It quickly became apparent that this was no ordinary crash; the vehicle was riddled with bullet holes, and Ware had been shot.
She was rushed to a Columbus-area hospital in critical condition, but both she and her unborn child, a boy she was 33 weeks pregnant with, tragically died from their injuries.
The investigation into the death of the mother of five led authorities to North Carolina. Evidence from the scene, including parts of the suspect's vehicle, a silver Nissan, pointed towards Alonzo Dargan Jr., a 30-year-old active-duty U.S. Army sergeant stationed at Fort Bragg. Dargan, who had attended school with Ware in Troup County, was identified as the father of her unborn child. Investigators determined that Dargan had followed Ware, shot at her vehicle, and caused her to run off the road.
Two days after Ware's death, Alonzo Dargan Jr. was arrested in Cumberland County, North Carolina. He was subsequently extradited to Georgia to face charges of murder, feticide, and possession of a firearm during the commission of a crime. In January 2023, Dargan pleaded guilty to the murder of Akelia Ware. He was sentenced to life in prison for the death of the young mother and her unborn son. At the time of the murder, Dargan was married and had two children with his wife. Ware was remembered by her family as a loving mother and a registered nurse who was excited about the upcoming birth of her baby boy and had plans to buy a new home for her growing family.
