On the night of July 24, 2020, in Oxford, Alabama, 49-year-old Maurice S. Bryant, a Black male, was shot and killed. The incident occurred around 11:30 p.m. in the 3300 block of Highway 78 West. When Oxford Police officers arrived at the scene, they discovered Bryant on the ground next to a vehicle, suffering from a single gunshot wound to his chest. He was pronounced dead at the scene.
The investigation into the shooting revealed that Bryant and Teenya Dashawn Heard, then 41 years old, had been at a party in Anniston earlier that evening where they had gotten into an argument. The couple, who were married, left the party together. The dispute continued and ultimately escalated when they returned to their residence on U.S. 78 West, culminating in Heard shooting Bryant.
Heard was arrested at the scene and charged with murder. She was subsequently held at the Calhoun County Jail on a $100,000 bond. During her trial, Heard claimed the shooting was an accident and also argued it was in self-defense, but a jury rejected these claims.
On February 15, 2024, Teenya Dashawn Heard, by then 47, was convicted of the murder of her husband, Maurice Bryant, in the Calhoun County Circuit Court. She was sentenced to 45 years in prison for the crime. Heard later appealed her conviction, but on August 15, 2025, the Alabama Court of Criminal Appeals affirmed the guilty verdict.
