In the early hours of a Sunday morning in Jackson, Mississippi, a dispute over something as trivial as a parking space escalated into a fatal act of violence that claimed the life of 25-year-old Kiana Singleton. On January 24, 2021, what began as an argument in the parking lot of a Zaxby's restaurant near the M-Bar Grill ultimately led to a car chase and a senseless shooting.
Kiana, a mother to a young daughter, was a passenger in a vehicle that was followed from Ridgewood Road onto Interstate 220. During the pursuit, multiple shots were fired into the car she was in. It wasn't until the vehicle reached its destination in South Jackson that the driver discovered Kiana had been struck by the gunfire and was unresponsive.
The investigation into the shooting led Jackson police to identify and arrest two suspects in connection with the crime. Marcus Guice, 44, and Augena Funches, 24, were both taken into custody and faced serious charges, including murder and drive-by shooting. Funches was also charged with possession of stolen property. At the time of her arrest for Singleton's murder, Funches was already out on bond for a separate 2019 murder charge.
The legal proceedings for the two accused have followed different paths. In a case unrelated to the death of Kiana Singleton, Marcus Guice was sentenced in May 2025 to over 18 years in federal prison for conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute cocaine and possession with the intent to distribute methamphetamine. These federal charges stemmed from activities that occurred in late 2019 and early 2020. There is no publicly available information on the outcome of the murder charge against Guice in connection with Kiana Singleton's death.
As of late 2024, Augena Funches' legal situation remained complex. In December 2024, she pleaded guilty to a reduced charge of manslaughter for the 2019 death of Kiona Morgan and was sentenced to 20 years in prison. However, she still faces the capital murder charge for the shooting death of Kiana Singleton. Reports from that time indicated that the case for Singleton's murder was still pending, leaving a final resolution in that aspect of the tragedy yet to be determined.
