On a day meant for celebration, the life of 26-year-old Sharayne Danielle Nichole Holland was tragically cut short. The mother of two was killed in a brazen shooting on Interstate 95 in Richmond, Virginia, in the early morning hours of Mother's Day, May 14, 2017. Holland, a resident of Manassas, was in Richmond to celebrate a friend's graduation from Virginia Commonwealth University.
For the young mother, who had recently completed a second degree herself, it was a rare night out away from her children.
The evening began at the Plush Lounge, a nightclub in the city, but an argument between Holland's friends and other patrons would set in motion a devastating chain of events. After leaving the club, the vehicle Holland was in was followed onto I-95. As they drove through downtown Richmond, a passenger in the pursuing car opened fire, unleashing a torrent of bullets. Investigators from the Virginia State Police recovered at least 72 shell casings from the scene, a testament to the sheer violence of the attack that turned a public highway into a war zone.
Sharayne Holland did not survive the shooting. Also killed in the vehicle was her friend, Tanna D. Gardner. Holland left behind two young children, a daughter who has Down Syndrome and was in remission from leukemia, and a son so young he had not yet begun to speak. Her family was devastated by the sudden and brutal loss, which they learned of when police knocked on their door at 6:00 a.m. that Mother's Day morning.
In the years following the murders, the case has remained unsolved, and the killer is still at large. The Virginia State Police and the FBI continue to actively investigate what they consider one of the most vicious crimes in the state's recent memory. A substantial $50,000 reward has been offered for any information that leads to an arrest. Sharayne's family has tirelessly advocated for justice, holding marches and passing out flyers to keep her story alive in the public consciousness, all while grappling with the immense pain of their loss and the void left in the lives of her two children.
