In the winter of 2018, the life of Donalda Shortman, a 41-year-old Caucasian woman, was tragically cut short in Albuquerque, New Mexico. On the afternoon of December 16th, at approximately 2:27 p.m., police responded to a call of a woman shot near the intersection of Central Avenue SE and Dorado Drive SE. There on the sidewalk, they found Donalda, known to some as "Mia," with a gunshot wound.
Despite the efforts of first responders, she succumbed to her injuries.
The initial investigation into Donalda's death yielded few leads. A witness reported seeing a man running from the scene shortly after hearing a gunshot. The witness described him as an African American male, about 30 years old and 5'8" tall, wearing a black hat, black shirt, and baggy blue jeans. For years, the case grew cold, leaving her family and friends with unanswered questions and a profound sense of loss.
A significant breakthrough in the case came in July 2025, when the Albuquerque Police Department announced the arrest of a suspect. Uriah Smith, 36, was apprehended in Juárez, Mexico, as a result of a collaborative effort between APD detectives, U.S. Marshals, and Mexican authorities. The renewed push to solve the case came from a departmental initiative to re-examine cold cases.
The key to cracking the case came from new evidence uncovered by the Criminal Investigation Division. In April 2025, detectives interviewed Smith's former spouse, who revealed that Smith had admitted to harming a woman on the night Donalda was killed. Investigators also reviewed surveillance footage from fast-food restaurants near the scene, which reportedly showed that Smith was the only individual who could have been in contact with Donalda at the time of her death. Following his arrest, Smith was held in a federal facility in El Paso, Texas, and faced an open count of murder, as well as additional felony charges for aggravated assault and false imprisonment.
