On a Monday in late April of 2016, the community of Holly Springs, Mississippi, was shaken by a violent act that claimed the life of Sharon Walls Smith. A 45-year-old female, Smith was at her job at the BDC Staffing Agency, situated in a busy part of town, when a man entered the office and fatally shot her in the head. The incident occurred during the lunch hour in the Southpark Shopping Center, right across the street from the police station.
Eyewitnesses reported hearing two gunshots and seeing a man flee the scene through a back door.
The Holly Springs Police Department, with assistance from the Marshall County Sheriff's Department, immediately launched an investigation. The police chief was personally affected by the case, as he had attended school with Smith. Investigators explored various motives, considering whether the killing was related to her work or was personal. Their search for the gunman was initially hampered by a non-working surveillance camera at a nearby restaurant.
The investigation quickly identified a suspect, Keith Berry. It was discovered that Berry had been previously employed through the staffing agency where Smith worked. Furthermore, both he and Smith attended the same church, Greenwood Missionary Baptist Church. The search for Berry came to an end the following day when authorities tracked him to Water Valley, Mississippi. As law enforcement closed in, Berry took his own life.
In the days that followed, family and friends gathered for a candlelight vigil outside BDC Personnel to honor the memory of Sharon Walls Smith, who was remembered as a cherished member of her church and a loving mother to three children.
