On March 22, 2023, at approximately 9 p.m., Austin Police Department officers responded to a 911 call from a woman screaming, "I've been shot!" The call taker could only hear the woman making gurgling noises and a possible fire alarm in the background before the line went silent. Officers were guided by dispatch to the apartment by following the sound of their voices, eventually locating an open apartment door.
Inside, they found 27-year-old Shahre-Ka Mays lying face down with multiple life-threatening gunshot wounds. Despite the efforts of Austin-Travis County EMS, Mays was pronounced dead at 10 p.m.
During the initial investigation, police received a second 911 call from a woman in California, who identified herself as the suspect's aunt. She explained that her nephew, 33-year-old Timothy Pace, had called her, admitting to shooting his girlfriend after a dispute. According to the aunt, Mays had recently asked Pace to leave her apartment due to a pending Child Protective Services case.
Investigators discovered a previous incident in Georgetown involving Pace and Mays, where Mays had thrown a rock at Pace's Mercedes Benz. The Lone Star Fugitive Task Force conducted a license plate scan for Pace's car, showing the vehicle was at the apartment complex on March 21st and traveled 3.4 miles away from the murder scene after the incident. Authorities also found an empty gun holster and Pace's W-2 form in a closet at Mays' apartment, further connecting him to the scene.
On March 23, 2023, members of the Lone Star Fugitive Task Force and the United States Marshals Service arrested Pace. He was charged with first-degree murder in connection with Mays' death. This case marked Austin's 20th homicide of 2023.
Mays' death has brought attention to issues of domestic violence. Her sister, Dominique Tripp, stated that Mays had endured years of abuse at the hands of Pace and emphasized the need for greater awareness and more serious handling of domestic violence cases by law enforcement.
