On the morning of August 20, 2023, a domestic dispute at a home on East 102nd Street North in Owasso, Oklahoma, ended with 26-year-old Atia Kamare Fields suffering a fatal gunshot wound. Officers arrived about 11:20 AM and found Atia critically wounded; she was taken to a local hospital and later died of her injuries.

Police identified the suspect as Atia’s 28-year-old wife, Essence D. Fields. Essence placed the 911 call, saying her wife hit her and that she had shot her. She told investigators the couple had been arguing and that she fired after believing Atia was reaching for a gun by the bedroom door. Officers found a recently fired pistol near the foot of the bed, a shell casing on the bed, and a second unloaded gun under the bed. A 10-year-old child was in the home but unharmed and released to a family member.

Essence Fields was arrested and booked into the Tulsa County Jail on a charge of second-degree murder. The school district where Essence taught removed her from the classroom and made counselors available to students and staff. If anyone has information about Atia or the events that morning, please share what is known.