On the evening of February 18, 2024, 76-year-old Jackie Hinman was shot to death in her Green Hill Road home in South Hill, Virginia. Officers responding just before 7:30 p.m. to a report that someone was being held at gunpoint and shots had been fired found Jackie with two gunshot wounds to the chest. Her husband, Douglas Hinman, then 69, was also in the room with a self-inflicted, life-threatening gunshot wound to his chest and was airlifted to a Richmond hospital.

Family statements and a letter Jackie had sent to her lawyer described escalating anger by her husband and referenced murder/suicide; Jackie had called her daughter during the incident saying she was being held at gunpoint. The couple were in the process of divorcing and Jackie had been moving out. Following his release from the hospital, Douglas Hinman was arrested and charged with second-degree murder, malicious wounding, and shooting into an occupied dwelling; he later entered a guilty plea to those counts. The Hinmans were long-time operators of The Shepherd Shop and Shepherds Inn homeless shelter, and Jackie had been a certified behavioral health nurse and a 2022 candidate for South Hill Town Council.

Does anyone have information about the days leading up to February 18 or about the couple’s work in the community that could help clarify what happened?