Jertia Tia Evans was 23 when she was killed on the night of June 5, 2021, in Jackson, Mississippi. A recent Mississippi State University graduate with a degree in Fashion and Design, she had launched a beauty and fashion brand called Touched By Tia and was remembered by family and friends as bright, friendly, and positive.

On the evening she died, Jertia was sitting outside a home on Barbara Ann Drive when a dark-colored Ford Escape reportedly drove by and fired into the residence. Multiple shell casings were recovered, including from a .223 assault rifle and a .40 caliber handgun. Investigators believe she was not the intended target and that the shooting was retaliation for an earlier robbery at a tennis court on Oak Forrest Drive. Police arrested 40-year-old Ernest Guise and charged him with murder in connection with the shooting.