On May 15, 2021, the life of 40-year-old Shawna D. Webb, a Black/African American woman, was tragically cut short in her Wichita, Kansas home. The events leading to the discovery of her death began to unfold in the early morning hours at Ascension Via Christi St. Joseph Hospital. Her sister, Joy Lynn Wilson, then 36, had checked herself into the psychiatric ward and informed the hospital staff that she had shot her sister and was in need of a lawyer.
Responding to a call from the
hospital, Wichita police officers spoke with Wilson. During their interaction, she reportedly told an officer that "everyone is out to kill her" and that her sister needed help. Officers noted a handgun visible inside Wilson's vehicle at the hospital. This alarming information prompted police to go to Webb's residence in the 2400 block of North Green. Inside, they found a grim scene; Shawna D. Webb was unresponsive, lying face down in a pool of blood. She was pronounced dead at the scene.
The investigation that followed painted a violent picture of Webb's final moments. An autopsy would later reveal that she had been shot nine times in the chest, back, and abdomen, with an additional four gunshot wounds to her arms. Back at the house, investigators recovered 15 spent cartridge casings, indicating the sheer ferocity of the attack. The weapon believed to have been used, a 9mm Smith & Wesson handgun, was retrieved from the Chevy Trailblazer that Wilson had been driving.
Joy Lynn Wilson was arrested on May 17, 2021, and subsequently charged with the murder of her sister. The legal proceedings that followed included a period where Wilson's mental competency to stand trial was evaluated, following a request from her defense attorney who cited a history of mental health issues. After being found competent, the case proceeded. In November 2022, Joy Wilson pleaded guilty to a charge of first-degree felony murder. In January 2023, she was sentenced to life in prison, with the possibility of parole after serving 25 years for the murder of her sister, Shawna Webb.
