Jermea Lyle, a 26-year-old Black woman and mother, was shot and killed on the morning of September 21, 2024. She was riding in the backseat of her boyfriend’s car with their 4-year-old daughter when the shooting occurred around 7:00 a.m. Her boyfriend was driving and giving a ride to a co-worker from an area near the Dayton International Airport. As their vehicle traveled on the off-ramp from southbound Interstate 75 to westbound U.S. 35 in Dayton, Ohio, the driver heard a gunshot.
He realized Jermea had been struck and rushed her to Miami Valley Hospital, where she was pronounced dead.
Initially, police explored the possibility that the fatal shot came from a road rage incident between two other vehicles. The driver reported seeing a blue Chevrolet and a white car exit the highway immediately after the gunshot. However, the investigation quickly shifted. On September 25, police arrested 23-year-old Noah M. Corbitt at his residence. Detectives determined that the shooting was not a random act of violence. Instead, it stemmed from an ongoing dispute between Corbitt and the passenger in the car, who was his co-worker. The argument was reportedly over $20.
Investigators learned that Corbitt had followed the vehicle from the airport to the highway off-ramp, where he fired at least two shots into the car. Jermea Lyle was not the intended target and was an innocent bystander caught in the conflict. The Montgomery County Prosecutor’s Office charged Corbitt with murder, felonious assault, and discharge of a firearm over a roadway.
Noah Corbitt later pleaded guilty to the charges of murder, felonious assault, and discharge of a firearm. In November 2025, Montgomery County Common Pleas Judge Kimberly Melnick sentenced him to 21 years to life in prison. During the sentencing, the judge noted that Corbitt, who had no prior criminal history, had taken a mother from her child. Jermea’s mother, Ronetta Lyle, told the court that she was now raising her granddaughter, who still called out for her mother. Despite the family's pain, she offered forgiveness to Corbitt, who apologized for his actions. The case was closed as of November 2025.
