Brenda Maria Coates, 54, was found dead from a single gunshot wound to the neck in her car at the intersection of U.S. Highway 521 and Catoe Road in Kershaw, South Carolina, on June 17, 2018. Investigators determined the man in the car with Coates was the husband of Stacey McClintock Catoe, then 43. Authorities recovered a .380 pistol in Catoe’s vehicle and ballistics testing matched it to the fatal shot.

Phone records introduced during the investigation showed threatening messages sent from Catoe to Coates in the weeks before the killing. Catoe turned herself in on June 21, 2018, and was charged with murder. Trial testimony described a troubled marriage with allegations of infidelity; the defense said Catoe feared for her life and claimed her husband had been abusive, while no weapon was found on him at the scene. Coates’ children described their mother as imperfect but loving.

If anyone knew Brenda, her movements that evening, or has information about the relationship between the people involved, please come forward.