On a day meant for celebrating love, Valentine's Day of 2020 turned into a day of tragedy for the family of Shemethia Tynise Coteat Stanton. The 41-year-old woman was fatally shot in an ambush in the parking lot of The Park at Wellington and Wakefield apartment complex in Hoover, Alabama. The attack occurred shortly before 7 p.m. as she was getting items from the backseat of her car.
She was shot four times from behind and was pronounced dead at the scene at 7:05 p.m.
The horrifying discovery was made by her 17-year-old daughter, who heard the gunshots from inside their apartment. After hearing the gunfire and then the sound of tires speeding away, she looked outside and saw her mother's car door open. When her mother didn't come inside, the teenager went out to investigate and found her unresponsive on the ground. Trained in CPR, she checked for a pulse but found none.
Shemethia, a mother of four, was remembered by her family as a loving, God-fearing woman who was the life of the party and would help anyone. She worked as the business operations manager at an Old Navy. Investigators believe she was specifically targeted by her killer, who may have been waiting for her to return home.
Despite the investigation and the belief that she was targeted, no arrests have been made in her murder. The Hoover Police Department has identified a suspect but has stated that they need more evidence to secure an arrest and ensure it holds up in court. A reward of up to $5,000 has been offered by Crime Stoppers for any information that leads to an arrest in the case. The case was further complicated for the grieving family when they discovered that Shemethia's wedding ring, which was held as evidence, had been sold at a county auction after being deemed unclaimed property.
