In the early morning of Sunday, October 20, 2024, the body of 35-year-old Shacoya Baker was found in a ditch along the 6000 block of Flat Rock Road in Columbus, Georgia. Columbus police were called at about 7:10 a.m.; the Muscogee County Coroner, Buddy Bryan, pronounced Baker dead at 8 a.m. She had sustained multiple gunshot wounds.

Columbus Police Department’s Violent Crimes Unit opened a homicide investigation and quickly focused on a person of interest living near where the body was discovered. That person, 40-year-old Bryant Butler, was arrested after a brief standoff and charged with murder and possession of a firearm during the commission of a crime. A preliminary hearing was set for October 22, 2024.

Authorities have not disclosed a motive or said whether Baker and Butler knew each other. If anyone has information about Shacoya Baker, her movements that morning, or the area around Flat Rock Road, please come forward.