Nicole E. Adams, 21, of Albuquerque died of a gunshot wound to the head on November 29, 2014. She was born February 19, 1993, in Shiprock, New Mexico, graduated from Shiprock Northwest High School in 2010 and completed the Medical Assistant Program at Carrington College in Albuquerque in 2012. She worked as a National Certified Medical Assistant at Albuquerque Health Partners for more than two years and was a single mother to a four-year-old son, Quamare N. White.

Byron Hayes, who was with Adams when the shooting occurred, gave conflicting accounts: first that the firearm discharged accidentally as they were about to kiss, then later that Nicole shot herself. Her mother, Sharlene Talk, and other family members reject Hayes’s versions and believe he was responsible. No arrests or charges have been reported in connection with her death.

If anyone knew Nicole, her routines, or has information about what happened that night, please share what is known.