Shirley Smith, a 69-year-old White woman, was found dead on August 30, 2023, inside a room at the Town and Country Motel, 1401 North McKenzie Street, Foley, Alabama. Foley Police initially opened a death investigation but declared it a homicide after discovering Shirley had suffered multiple stab wounds. The Baldwin County Major Crimes Unit assisted and investigators processed the motel room where she had been living.

Authorities reported Shirley had been staying at the motel with her daughter, 36-year-old Katie Lee Smith. Witnesses saw Katie with her mother in the days before the death, and she was seen at the motel on the day Shirley was found but left before officers arrived. Shirley’s body was later described in court records as wrapped in a sheet and placed in a wheelbarrow inside Room 7, and autopsy-related information contributed to the homicide determination.

Deputies spotted Katie in the early hours of September 1, 2023; she fled into nearby woods when officers tried to detain her and was taken into custody after a brief standoff. Katie was initially arrested on charges including abuse of a corpse, criminal trespass in the first degree, disorderly conduct, resisting arrest, and attempting to elude. Later developments show Katie pleaded guilty to murdering her mother and received a 20-year prison sentence. No other suspects in Shirley’s killing have been publicly identified.

Did anyone know Shirley or Katie, or have information about their time at the Town and Country Motel?