On April 20, 2020, 38-year-old Sandy Kay Strickland Willis was found dead in her Lake City, Tennessee, home. Born October 9, 1981, in Vidalia, Georgia, she was active in Pine Hill Baptist Church and remembered for her love of horses, butterflies and arts and crafts and for her devotion to her two sons.

Court records state Sandy was shot while she slept. Her then 16-year-old son, Shawn T. Willis, was taken into custody. Investigators say he admitted weeks later to taking her pistol from a nightstand, loading it in another room to muffle the sound, returning to her bedroom and shooting her at close range. The autopsy reportedly found a shot to the back of the head that was not immediately fatal and a fatal second shot to the temple.

Shawn Willis was charged with first-degree murder, held on a $1 million bond, and the case was transferred from juvenile to adult court; he later pleaded guilty to second-degree murder. Family and friends held visitation at Hatmaker Funeral Home and a graveside service at Pine Hill Baptist Church Cemetery.

If anyone knew Sandy or was in that neighborhood in April 2020 and has information, please come forward.