In the quiet town of Eatonton, Georgia, a dedicated registered nurse named Barbara Ann Lawrence, a 43-year-old female, found her life tragically cut short in what authorities would later describe as an ambush-style shooting. The events of that September morning in 2015 unfolded into a devastating murder-suicide, leaving the community in shock.
Barbara, known for her commitment to her work at both Jasper Memorial Hospital and Putnam General Hospital, was preparing to leave for her shift. Clad in her burgundy medical scrubs with her keys in hand, she was beside her Chevrolet Trailblazer when she was fatally shot in the back of the head. The person responsible for her death was her 47-year-old ex-husband, Richard Bernard Smith.
The couple had divorced just a few months prior, in early July of that year. Their marital history included a domestic altercation in May, which had led to Smith's arrest on a charge of simple battery. It was this troubled history that culminated in the violent encounter at Barbara's Dennis Station Road residence.
On the morning of the incident, concern grew at Jasper Memorial Hospital when the typically punctual nurse failed to arrive for her shift. A welfare check was requested, and a deputy was dispatched to her home. Upon arrival, the deputy discovered a grim scene: Barbara's body lay on the ground, and nearby was the body of her ex-husband, Richard Bernard Smith.
Investigators determined that Smith had borrowed his sister's car and driven to his ex-wife's home, armed with two different firearms. After shooting Barbara with a. 22-caliber handgun, Smith used a 30-30 rifle to take his own life. The case was ruled a murder-suicide, and with the perpetrator deceased, no arrests were made in connection with Barbara Ann Lawrence's death.
