Sonya Yvonne Darden, a 49-year-old African American woman, was found dead at her Wilmington Avenue residence in Goldsboro, North Carolina, on July 15, 2016. Police and paramedics responded early that morning; paramedics pronounced Sonya dead at the scene from a fatal gunshot wound.

Her son, 31-year-old Shontionne Darden, told authorities he believed he heard an intruder and, in a state of panic, fired a shot into the hallway that struck his mother. Shontionne was charged with second-degree murder and felony possession of a firearm by a felon and held in the Wayne County jail under secured bond. Reports note he had a prior criminal record, and his claim that he mistook his mother for an intruder became central to the legal proceedings.

Sonya’s death deeply affected her family and community. If anyone knew Sonya or has information about the events at the Wilmington Avenue home that morning, please come forward.