Stephanie Megan Sheppard, 43, was found fatally wounded inside her Poplar Springs Road home north of Brookwood, Tuscaloosa County, on August 9, 2020. Deputies and Brookwood police responded after a 911 call just after 4 a.m. from her husband, James William Sheppard, then 42, who said he had blacked out and woke holding a knife and a handgun while his wife lay bleeding from a severe neck injury.

Officers located Stephanie near the front door; she was pronounced dead at the scene. Investigators from the Tuscaloosa Violent Crimes Unit say only the couple were in the house and that evidence and the husband’s statement led to his arrest. James Sheppard was charged with murder and booked into the county jail with bond set at $160,000. Reports differ on whether Stephanie was shot or stabbed; the motive and precise sequence of events remain under investigation.

If anyone knew Stephanie or was in that area that night, please share what you know with investigators.