In the quiet residential neighborhood of Stone Mountain, Georgia, the life of 19-year-old Jayce Sandria Pirtle, an African American mother, was tragically cut short. On the evening of January 2, 2023, just a day before her twentieth birthday, Pirtle and her 16-year-old sister were walking home along Arbor Ridge Drive when they were confronted by a man dressed in black. The man, whom the surviving sister later identified as someone they knew, began to chase them. In a desperate plea for her life, Pirtle's final words were captured on a nearby home's security camera, 'Malachi, stop, please… please, Malachi, no!'. The audio was followed by gunshots. DeKalb County Police arrived at the scene to find Jayce Pirtle deceased from a gunshot wound to the head. Her younger sister was seriously injured but survived.
The investigation into the homicide quickly pointed to 21-year-old Malachi Coleman of Stone Mountain. The motive for the attack appeared to stem from an argument the day before the shooting. Coleman, who was dating a friend of the sisters, was reportedly upset that his girlfriend had spent New Year's Eve with Pirtle, her sister, and some of their male relatives. The surviving victim's testimony and the chilling security camera footage became critical pieces of evidence for prosecutors. On February 4, 2023, the DeKalb County Sheriff's Office announced the arrest of Coleman in connection with Pirtle's death. He was taken into custody at a residence in Decatur and charged with malice murder and aggravated assault with a weapon.
Malachi Coleman, who was 23 at the time of the trial, faced a jury in November 2025. He was found guilty on multiple counts, including Malice Murder, Felony Murder, two counts of Aggravated Assault, and Possession of a Firearm During the Commission of a Felony. Following the jury's verdict, DeKalb County Superior Court Judge Yolanda Parker-Smith sentenced Coleman to life in prison without the possibility of parole, ensuring he would spend the rest of his life behind bars for the violent and senseless act that ended a young woman's life and forever altered her family's. Jayce, a graduate of Wooddale High School in Memphis, Tennessee, was a devoted mother to her young son, Tah’Jae Pirtle.
