Lacey West, 24, was shot and killed on April 27, 2016, at about 9:40 p.m. in the Cherryville area on Black Road. The shooting happened at the home of her boyfriend, 26-year-old Jeffrey Eaker. West was taken to CaroMont Regional Medical Center and pronounced dead; the autopsy found a single close-range gunshot wound to the head.

Eaker was taken into custody at the scene and investigators recovered a revolver believed to be the weapon. He was reported to be highly intoxicated and was taken to the hospital; he was held at the Gaston County Jail without bond and was charged with first-degree murder. Eaker told authorities the gun accidentally discharged while he was cleaning it, but witnesses and evidence reportedly contradicted that account. Eaker’s two young daughters were in the room during the shooting but were unharmed.

Lacey had previously suffered the loss of two young children: her four-year-old son Austin West drowned in Mooresville on April 4, 2015, and another child, Jason Medlin, died at age four in October 2012. Does anyone have information about Lacey’s life in Cherryville or about the events on Black Road that night?