On the afternoon of December 23, 2025, a domestic dispute at a home on Heights Trail in South Blooming Grove, New York, ended in fatal violence. Troopers from the New York State Police responded around 4:41 p.m. after a report of an unresponsive woman with a gunshot wound. Emergency crews transported 45-year-old resident Tanzanica Dickerson to Garnet Health Medical Center in Wallkill, where she was later pronounced dead.

The Orange County Medical Examiner’s Office ruled the death a homicide, listing cause as a gunshot wound complicated by blunt force trauma. Police say Dickerson lived at the residence with 44-year-old Joseph M. Pennyfeather III; a verbal argument reportedly escalated into a physical confrontation and a firearm was discharged. Pennyfeather was taken into custody at the scene and later charged with Murder in the Second Degree and Criminal Possession of a Weapon in the Second Degree. He was arraigned and held without bail, and the matter is being prepared for grand jury action in Orange County Court.

Family members describe Dickerson as a devoted mother of four who is now deceased. If anyone has information about the incident or knew Tanzanica, please come forward to assist the investigation.