Jessica Kirkland, 34, was found with a fatal head wound on the back porch of her home on Clayton Street in Sylva, North Carolina shortly after 12:30 a.m. on Sunday, April 7, 2024. A projectile was later recovered embedded in a kitchen wall, but no firearm was located at the scene. She was taken to Harris Regional Hospital and pronounced dead from a gunshot wound.

The Sylva Police Department opened the town’s first homicide investigation since 2011, working with the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation and the Jackson County Sheriff’s Office. Investigators asked the public for help and offered an anonymous tip line. On April 11, 2024, authorities arrested 35-year-old Sylva resident Jonathan Brian Motte and charged him with felony murder, possession of a firearm by a felon, and as a habitual felon; Motte was held without bond on the murder charge and with a $25,000 bond on the firearm charge. As of July 2024 the case remained pending in litigation.

Jessica was remembered as a devoted mother and stepmother and as Activity Director at Skyland Care Center whose singing and personality brightened residents’ days. If anyone knew Jessica or has information about what happened that night, please contact the Jackson County Communications Center or the Sylva Police Department anonymous tip line.