Sophia Lott, a 34-year-old Black woman, was killed in a shooting in Corpus Christi, Texas, on the night of September 27, 2019. The attack happened at the Valley Motel on the 5300 block of Leopard Street, where Sophia was inside one of the rooms with other people.
Surveillance video released by police showed a man armed with a gun walking across the motel's parking lot. He stopped in front of a specific room and fired several shots toward it from the outside. Sophia was struck in the head and chest and died from her injuries. The other individuals inside the room with her were not harmed.
In the initial stages of the investigation, police arrested a man named Delfino Chavira and charged him with Sophia's murder. However, he was released from jail after what police described as "newly uncovered evidence" came to light. The charges against Chavira were dropped, and the search for the person responsible for Sophia's death continued.
The investigation into the murder of Sophia Lott remains active and ongoing. Detectives with the Corpus Christi Police Department are asking for the public's help in identifying the man seen in the surveillance footage. Anyone with information is encouraged to contact Homicide Detective Loraine Mathews at (361) 886-2883 or to call Crime Stoppers at 888-TIPS. Crime Stoppers guarantees anonymity and is offering a cash reward of up to $2,500 for information that leads to an arrest. The case is unsolved.