Lucia Lucy Mendez Smith, 38, was found dead inside her home on Nevada 55 in Emmet, Arkansas, after law enforcement responded to reports of a shooting on the evening of October 11, 2017. Born in Mexico on August 3, 1979, she worked as a housekeeper at a Best Western in nearby Hope and was a mother.

Witnesses at the scene identified 21-year-old George Hayden Tong of Fulton as the person responsible. Multiple agencies — the Hempstead County Sheriff’s Office, Nevada County authorities, the Hope Police Department and Texarkana Arkansas Police Department — located and arrested Tong at a motel in Texarkana. He was returned to Nevada County and charged with first-degree murder.

Smith’s family and friends held funeral services at Calvary Baptist Church and she was buried at Rose Hill Cemetery in Hope. If anyone in the area knew Lucy, her movements that evening, or has information about the case, please share what you know.