On July 18, 2023, at about 5:21 a.m., 25-year-old Tyra Shanell Crosby was shot and killed inside a residence on Porter Street in Charlotte, North Carolina. The homeowner, 51-year-old Stephanie Alexander, returned home to find Crosby — a woman she did not know — inside the house with her husband. Alexander found Crosby’s clothing on the sofa, which led to a confrontation. During the altercation Alexander retrieved a firearm; despite the husband’s attempts to de-escalate, a shot was fired through a bathroom door and struck Crosby, who died at the scene.

Alexander called 911 and remained until police arrived. She was arrested and initially charged with voluntary manslaughter; a Mecklenburg County grand jury later indicted her on second-degree murder. Crosby’s mother, Tanya Hoskins, says her daughter had met Alexander’s husband at a local gambling arcade and went to his home unaware he was married and that she was lured there under false pretenses. Hoskins provided investigators with an eight-minute voicemail she says captures her daughter’s final moments.

The family continues to mourn and seeks accountability for Crosby’s death. If anyone has information about Crosby’s movements that morning or about the encounter at the arcade, please come forward.