Ciera Webster, a 33-year-old Black woman known to her family and friends as “CeCe,” was a beloved wife, mother, sister, and aunt with an infectious smile and a big heart. A graduate of Williamson High School, she earned a certificate as a medical assistant and worked for Amazon and Family Dollar. She was a mother to four children: Seaysia, DeMirah, DeMarco Jr., and DeMario.
Ciera enjoyed cooking, traveling, and family gatherings, but her most cherished moments were spent creating memories with her children, nieces, and nephews.
On the night of July 31, 2023, Ciera and her husband, 30-year-old Demarco Moorer, were fatally shot in Columbus, Ohio. The incident occurred around 11:50 p.m. on the 3200 block of Plum Creek Drive. According to court records, a group of five people had gone to the apartment complex for a fight. A fistfight broke out between Ciera and another woman but was quickly broken up. Several men then began fighting, and witnesses heard Demarco Moorer yell that someone had pulled a gun on him just before gunshots rang out.
When police responded to reports of the shooting, they found Ciera in the parking lot. She was pronounced dead at the scene at 12:08 a.m. on August 1. Demarco Moorer was rushed to a local hospital in critical condition but died from his injuries at 2:13 a.m. The group that had arrived for the fight fled in an SUV, but officers stopped a vehicle matching its description a short time later.
Police arrested 29-year-old Marquise Sheppard on August 1, 2023, and charged him in the double homicide. Investigators learned that Sheppard had been released from prison in June 2023, less than two months before the killings.
In September 2024, a jury convicted Marquise Sheppard of four counts of murder, two counts of felonious assault, and having a weapon while under disability. On November 14, 2024, a Franklin County judge sentenced Sheppard to life in prison. He will not be eligible for parole for 46.5 years.
