A 33-year-old woman, Mary Branch, was fatally shot in the early morning hours of June 19, 2020, while waiting for her to-go order in her SUV outside a Waffle House on Tara Boulevard in Jonesboro, Georgia. The incident unfolded around 4 a.m. when another woman approached Branch's vehicle and fired multiple shots, killing her at the scene.
Investigators quickly identified a suspect from surveillance footage showing her inside the Waffle House shortly before the shooting. The suspect, 35-year-old Jasmine Monica Kirk, was arrested later the same day. Authorities reported that both Kirk and Branch resided in Jonesboro and had originally come from Minnesota, though it remains unclear if the two women knew each other. The motive for the shooting is still unknown to investigators.
Following her arrest, Kirk was held in the Clayton County Jail on charges of malice murder, possession of a weapon during the commission of a crime, and firing a gun near a public road. In January 2025, a jury found Jasmine Kirk guilty of malice murder, felony murder, two counts of aggravated assault, and two counts of possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony. There was no evidence presented to suggest any prior altercation between Kirk and Branch. Kirk reportedly admitted to 'smoking something' before the incident and claimed to have no memory of the shooting. A Clayton County judge subsequently sentenced Kirk to life in prison with the possibility of parole, plus an additional 10 years.
