In the summer of 2021, a senseless act of violence cut short the life of 30-year-old Patricia Ellen Gamboa, a mother who was also expecting her second child. On the morning of June 10th, Patricia was with two friends in a van on Appling Court in Macon, Georgia. They had located a vehicle they believed to be stolen and were awaiting the arrival of law enforcement.
Their wait took a tragic turn when a man, later identified as 39-year-old Jeremiah Wayne Waller Jr., emerged from a nearby
residence and opened fire on the van. A single bullet struck Patricia in the head, ending her life and that of her unborn child. Her friends, in a desperate attempt to save her, tried to rush her to the hospital, even flagging down paramedics on Gray Highway. Tragically, their efforts were in vain, and Patricia was pronounced dead at the scene.
Bibb County Sheriff's deputies responded to the original scene on Appling Court and quickly identified Waller as the suspected shooter. He was taken into custody that same day. During questioning, Waller admitted to firing at the van and disposing of the firearm. As a previously convicted felon, it was illegal for him to be in possession of a gun.
In September 2023, just as his trial was about to begin, Jeremiah Wayne Waller Jr. pleaded guilty to the murder of Patricia Gamboa and the feticide of her unborn child. He also pleaded guilty to aggravated assault on the two other individuals in the van and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. For his crimes, he was sentenced to life in prison.
