Kathryn Garton Holmes, 67, of Greensboro, North Carolina, was fatally shot after a meeting arranged through an online marketplace on May 24, 2024. Holmes drove to the 500 block of Denny Road to meet a buyer identified as 31-year-old Troy Marquise Gillard. Gillard allegedly shot Holmes in the neck while she remained in her vehicle; the wound left her paralyzed and her 2022 Volkswagen Taos crashed into a ditch. Holmes was taken to a local hospital and died two days later.

Investigators say Gillard was later located and arrested on June 6, 2024, and charged with first-degree murder, robbery with a dangerous weapon, discharging a firearm into occupied property, possession of a firearm by a felon, and being a fugitive from justice. Court paperwork alleges he entered an unoccupied nearby home with a familial connection and stole Holmes’ engagement ring and wedding band, valued at more than $10,000. Gillard’s record includes a 2016 guilty plea for first-degree felony carjacking.

Holmes’ death was recorded as the 17th homicide in Greensboro for 2024, and the case has prompted discussions about the safety of online marketplace transactions. Does anyone have information about that Denny Road area or about safe exchange locations that could help prevent similar incidents?