Dasia Jenis Gentry, 25, was found with a gunshot wound in a hotel room at the Microtel Inn, 100 Capitol Lodging Court in Winston-Salem, on January 1, 2023. Officers arrived about 6:18 a.m. and despite life-saving measures she was pronounced dead at the scene. The death was recorded as Winston-Salem’s first homicide of 2023 and occurred during New Year’s celebrations at the hotel.

Gentry was in a domestic relationship with 25-year-old Rick Monroe Jr. Prosecutors say Monroe became impaired during the festivities and was recklessly handling a firearm when it discharged, striking Gentry in the head. Monroe fled the scene but later turned himself in and was arrested on January 1, 2023, charged with voluntary manslaughter and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon; his bond was set at $1,000,000 and he was scheduled to appear in court on January 3, 2023.

The circumstances reported raise questions about how the firearm came to be handled that night and about the couple’s situation leading up to the shooting. If anyone has information about Dasia Gentry, her movements that night, or related details, please share what is known.