Anna Kathryn Hurst, a 30-year-old White/Caucasian female from Dover, Delaware, died after a violent encounter that unfolded in the early morning hours of August 21, 2021. Delaware State Police were called at about 8:57 a.m. to the 2000 block of Dyke Branch Road in Dover after a deceased person was found in a field. Hurst was discovered in a cornfield with apparent gunshot wounds to her upper body and was pronounced dead at the scene.
Investigators later connected Hurst’s death to a
group involved in stealing catalytic converters. According to court records, Ronald Suber, Tori Balfour, Brian May and Hurst had been working together in that theft operation. Days before Hurst was found dead, police had pursued the group after a vehicle owner reported seeing people trying to remove a catalytic converter. Hurst was apprehended and later confessed, while Suber and Balfour escaped. Afterward, Suber reportedly became angry because he believed Hurst had talked to police and provided incriminating information.
The next night, Suber and Balfour met Hurst and Brian May at a Royal Farms convenience store. Surveillance footage later showed May and Hurst getting into a borrowed Chevrolet Impala shortly after midnight on August 21. Balfour testified that Suber confronted Hurst and May during the drive, accusing them of saying things to police. The car eventually stopped near the cornfield. According to Balfour’s testimony, Suber opened the rear passenger door, was wearing a blue glove, and had a golden handgun pointed toward Hurst and May.
The confrontation quickly turned deadly. Balfour testified that Suber fired, Hurst fell to the ground, and May ran into the cornfield. Suber allegedly chased after May and fired more shots. May survived after being shot in the foot and later made his way to a nearby resident’s home seeking help. A resident reported hearing May say that “the bad man” had shot him. Another nearby witness described hearing a woman’s voice, desperate pleas, and gunshots during the night. Hurst’s body was later found by a farmer in the cornfield.
The autopsy later showed that Hurst died from a combination of gunshot wounds and blunt force trauma to the head. Evidence collected during the investigation included Hurst’s DNA on a towel and on plastic molding in the Impala’s trunk area. Investigators also recovered spent shell casings and live rounds from the scene, but the murder weapon was not recovered.
On August 28, 2021, Delaware State Police arrested Ronald D. Suber Jr. of Dover and Tori L. Balfour of Felton in New Castle County. Suber was charged with first-degree murder, attempted first-degree murder, possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony, tampering with a witness and conspiracy. Balfour was also charged in connection with the case, including tampering with a witness and conspiracy.
Balfour later reached a plea agreement and testified against Suber. Just before Suber’s trial, she agreed to plead guilty to conspiracy in exchange for the State recommending no prison time, and she cooperated in the prosecution. Brian May, the surviving shooting victim, did not appear for trial and could not be located, which later became a major issue in the appeal.
A jury found Suber guilty of first-degree murder and related charges. In November 2023, he was sentenced in Kent County Superior Court to life in prison plus 70 additional years for the murder of Hurst, the attempted murder of May, firearm offenses, tampering with a witness and conspiracy. Prosecutors described the killing as an act of retaliation tied to Suber’s belief that Hurst had cooperated with police.
However, the case did not end with that sentence. On January 15, 2026, the Delaware Supreme Court vacated Suber’s convictions and sent the case back for further proceedings. The court found that prosecutors had improperly used indirect hearsay testimony suggesting that Brian May had identified Suber as the shooter, even though May did not testify and was not available for cross-examination. The State conceded that this violated Suber’s confrontation rights. The Supreme Court ruled that the error was serious enough to undermine the fairness of the trial, especially because Balfour, the key eyewitness against Suber, was an accomplice who had received a plea deal.
As of the latest available online court reporting found, Suber’s original conviction and life-plus-70-year sentence had been vacated, and the case had been remanded for further proceedings. The public record still identifies Suber as the accused shooter in Hurst’s death, while Balfour remains the cooperating accomplice whose testimony placed him at the cornfield during the fatal attack.
