On March 17, 2024, in Smithfield, North Carolina, 44-year-old Emily Christine Steinhoff was fatally shot during a custody exchange. She had accompanied her sister Hillary to retrieve Hillary’s 14-month-old child from the child’s father, Dorian Thomas. After initially refusing to open the door and recording the sisters through a window, Thomas opened the door and fired a gun, striking Steinhoff in the torso as she stood on the porch. Thomas then retreated inside, secured the firearm, and called 911.

He was arrested at the scene and charged with first-degree murder; authorities said the shooting appeared premeditated because Thomas had the firearm in hand when he opened the door. Steinhoff was an Army veteran, a lawyer, a nurse, and a regular volunteer with Raleigh Little Theatre. She was also a mother to a young son, Miles, who has autism and ocular albinism; a GoFundMe has been set up to aid his education and medical needs.

If anyone saw the custody exchange or has information about the shooting, please come forward.