John Anthony Lowden Jr., 38, was shot and killed in the early hours of February 28, 2024, in Augusta, Georgia. Deputies from the Richmond County Sheriff’s Office responded about 2:24 a.m. to reports of shots fired on the 2800 block of Washington Road and found Lowden in the eastbound right lane with a gunshot wound; the coroner pronounced him dead a little after 3:00 a.m.

Lowden was a retired U.S. Army special forces weapons sergeant who served six tours in Afghanistan and retired as a sergeant first class. He had also appeared in the Netflix documentary series Killer Sally, which examined the case of his mother, Sally McNeil. Reports before his death said he had been dealing with homelessness and mental health struggles.

Investigators quickly identified a suspect, 32-year-old Robert Ward of Augusta, who was located by the U.S. Marshal’s Southeastern Task Force with Aiken County deputies in Beech Island, South Carolina. Ward was taken into custody and was awaiting extradition to Richmond County to face murder and firearm-possession charges in connection with Lowden’s shooting.

If anyone knew Lowden, Ward, or witnessed activity on Washington Road that night, please come forward with information.