On April 17, 2020, 54-year-old Nancy A. Nash was found deceased at her workplace, a landscaping business in Auburn, Alabama. A preliminary investigation revealed she had sustained fatal gunshot wounds. The discovery was made after police responded to a call about a vehicle fire on the same property. Nash's own vehicle, a black 2019 Nissan Frontier, was missing from the scene but was later located in Irondale, Alabama.
The investigation into Nash's death led authorities to identify two
suspects, Derrick Lee Hightower, then 32, and Kentrice Symonee Hill, then 21. Their alleged involvement was part of a wider, multi-day crime spree that spanned several Alabama cities, including Dadeville and Birmingham, and involved other violent crimes, including additional homicides. Hightower was apprehended in Birmingham on April 18, 2020, following a police chase. Hill was also taken into custody in Birmingham.
Warrants were issued for Hightower for theft of property and capital murder in connection with Nancy Nash's death. Hill also faced a felony warrant for theft of property. In January 2024, Hightower was formally arrested and charged with two counts of capital murder related to the case. Prior to these charges, Hightower had already been convicted and sentenced for other crimes committed during the spree. In August 2023, he pleaded guilty to capital murder in Jefferson County for a separate killing and in December of that year, he was found guilty of four counts of capital murder for two other deaths in Tallapoosa County, for which he received a death sentence. He is still awaiting trial for the murder of Nancy Nash. Kentrice Hill has also been charged with capital murder in connection with the death.
