On March 26, 2023, at about 6:00 p.m. officers from the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department responded to a domestic violence call on Teresa Lane in northwest Charlotte. They found 24-year-old Janna Lee Barnes with a fatal gunshot wound to the head; paramedics pronounced her dead at the scene. The suspect, identified as 28-year-old Audie Lavonda Brack Belk Jr., remained at the scene and was taken into custody without incident.

Police dispatch audio indicates Belk called 911 saying he had shot his wife in the head, and homicide detectives later interviewed him before charging him with murder. Family and friends remember Janna as an affectionate mother to her young son, known as Brackie, with an infectious smile; she worked as a preschool teacher in Huntersville.

Anyone with information about this case is asked to come forward.