DEKALB COUNTY, Ga. — A woman was shot to death in her SUV while pulling into her neighborhood.
Merinda Henderson’s family say her accused killer is an ex-boyfriend who was stalking her, Channel 2’s Tom Regan learned.
It happened on Martin’s Crossing Road in Stone Mountain in the middle of the afternoon Sunday.
“She was a beautiful soul. She was a great person. She always lit up the room,” said Benjamin Rentz, Henderson’s nephew.
“She loved family. She was a great person all around. She didn’t deserve this,” said Robert Rougely-Render, Henderson’s brother-in-law.
The family told Regan the 44-year-old was driving home from shopping, when her ex-boyfriend confronted her at the end of this street and then opened fire.
“He then went back to his car and got his gun and shot her,” said Lucille Henderson Weaver, Henderson’s mother.
Police say Henderson, shot several times, crashed while trying to get away. She died on the scene. The gunman left.
Neighbors said the street was blocked off for hours as detectives investigated the deadly shooting.
Police say they arrested Jaworski Rainey after tracking his vehicle via Flock camera to his home.
The family says Rainey stalked Rainey after they broke up.
“He made his presence known. It was unwanted, and on multiple occasions that made her very uncomfortable. And it was a very scary situation for her,” said Neisha Rougely-Render, the victim’s sister.
The family said Henderson got a restraining order on Rainey last month, which he repeatedly violated.
Her mother says he broke into her daughter’s home several times.
“I think he should have been put in jail when he vandalized her house, broke all her windows. He went there and vandalized and she said, ‘Mommy he’s going to kill me,’“ Weaver said.
A GoFundMe has been set up to help with funeral and other expenses.
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