On January 23, 2025, officers in Jacksonville responded to a distress call on College Circle South and found 33-year-old Sierra McKenzie lying on a sidewalk in a pool of blood. The Medical Examiner’s Office determined she died from a gunshot wound. The Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office opened an intensive investigation into her death.

Authorities identified 45-year-old James Antonio Hunter as a suspect. Hunter had been wanted in connection with an earlier home invasion and double shooting on Main Street four days before McKenzie’s murder; two victims in that earlier incident survived head wounds. The U.S. Marshal’s Task Force took Hunter into custody in February on outstanding warrants, and detectives say forensic evidence linked him to McKenzie’s killing. He has been charged with second-degree murder and faces additional counts tied to the prior home invasion, including attempted murder, home invasion robbery with a firearm, and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. McKenzie’s family said they are devastated and want justice; her daughter Kamya Cockfield described her mother as kind, happy, and outgoing.

Anyone with information about Sierra McKenzie or the events on College Circle South is asked to contact investigators.