On June 11, 2021, 57-year-old Joyce Ann Bennett, a Black/African American woman, was shot and killed at her sister’s former home on Roxbury Court in Sumter, South Carolina. Sumter Police responded to an assault call around 8:15 p.m. and found Ms. Bennett deceased; her sister, Lorraine Doretha Bennett, was discovered with severe injuries and transported to a Columbia hospital in critical condition.

Investigators described the episode as stemming from a domestic dispute. Authorities say Mustafa Abdur Salaam, 51, and his 46-year-old fiancée France Pascale Metellus arrived at the Roxbury Court residence; an argument reportedly escalated and shots were fired. Both fled in separate vehicles but were located and taken into custody at a local hotel. Salaam was charged with murder and attempted murder; Metellus was charged with accessory after the fact to murder and accessory after the fact to attempted murder. Both were denied bond at a court appearance.

Does anyone have information about the events that night or knew the victim or her family?