Tyra Richelle Dear was 21 when she was shot during a dispute inside a Valley Station home in late February 2019. On February 28, witnesses say a man identified as Austin Tudor put a gun against her shoulder, threatened to shoot, and then Dear was shot after she challenged him; she was taken to the hospital and died on March 1, 2019.

Police arrested Tudor, then 25, and he told investigators Dear was shot accidentally as she tried to grab the firearm. He was charged with her murder. In January 2020 he was released from jail to a home incarceration program while awaiting trial, a decision that upset Dear’s family. Tudor was arrested again on new charges on February 27, 2020, accused of assaulting and strangling a new girlfriend.

Tyra’s family remember her as helpful and friendly; they continue to seek justice for her death. If anyone has information about what happened that night, please share it with investigators.