Jennifer Marie Cruz, 33, was fatally shot on March 23, 2024, at the Royal Inn motel on North Main Street in Sumter, South Carolina. Cruz, who was 35 weeks pregnant, was inside a vehicle with another person when an acquaintance identified as Troy Wells allegedly waited for them and fired numerous shots into the car. Cruz was struck multiple times and taken to Prisma Health Tuomey, where she died. The other occupant of the vehicle was wounded but not believed to have life-threatening injuries.

Cruz’s baby was delivered after the shooting and survived; the newborn was reported in critical condition and was transferred to a hospital in Columbia. Authorities identified 44-year-old Troy Cornelius Wells as the suspect, saying he and Cruz had been in a relationship and that they believed he knew she was pregnant. After a manhunt, Wells surrendered to the Sumter County Sheriff on March 28, 2024, and was charged with murder.

If anyone has information about Cruz, the shooting, or saw activity around the Royal Inn on March 23, please share what you know.