Jessica Hardy, 36, was fatally shot in the early morning hours of March 6, 2026, in the Avondale neighborhood of Cincinnati. Officers were dispatched about 6:35 a.m. after reports of a shooting; Hardy was found with a gunshot wound in the hallway of an apartment building on the 700 block of Ridgeway Avenue. Emergency responders performed CPR but she was pronounced dead at the scene. The Hamilton County Coroner’s Office confirmed her death as an apparent homicide.

Cincinnati Police Homicide Unit investigators arrested 65-year-old Jesse Wilson in connection with the shooting. Court documents allege Wilson had been hiding in the building and shot Hardy as she walked in. Reports say Wilson sent Hardy a threatening letter in September warning he would harm her if she did not want to be with him. Records also show Wilson had a 1983 murder conviction in Savannah, Georgia, that was overturned a year later due to a trial error and was not retried. A judge set bond at over $3 million and the investigation is ongoing.

Did anyone in Avondale see anything on Ridgeway Avenue the morning of March 6 that could help investigators?