An Alabama woman and three men have all been charged in the kidnapping and murder of a Georgia mom. The local sheriff claims the perpetrators wore motivated by jealousy.
According to CBS42, more information is coming to light about the death of 39-year-old Tameka Skinner, but authorities say she was kidnapped from a Georgia apartment complex on Monday, and later killed because she was involved in a relationship with the suspected mastermind’s former boyfriend and father of her children.
Demetria Johnson, 30, is said to have recruited three additional men to help her carry out the murder of Skinner, a mother, herself, who had allegedly questioned Johnson’s fitness to be a parent in recent weeks. Shaun Johnson, 40, Joshua Tolbert, 30 and Jayvonn Phillips, 33, are all suspected of being involved in the murder plot and have been charged with capital murder in the state of Alabama.
According to reports, Skinner and her boyfriend Martea Pettaway, also the ex-boyfriend of Johnson, were both assaulted around 1:00 a.m. on July 27 in Columbus, Georgia. Though Pettaway was injured in the confrontation, he was left at the apartment complex while Skinner was abducted and her car stolen.
As investigators were looking to track down Skinner’s vehicle, which was traced to a county in Alabama, they stumbled upon a “suspicious vehicle” that ended up leading them on a chase. That pursuit ended in a crash and all four passengers were taken into custody. Hours later Skinner’s body and her car were located in a wooded area. The 39-year-old had been shot to death. Authorities believe the suspects’ plan, which had been in the works for roughly a week, was to burn the evidence.
Tameka Skinner’s family remembers the churchgoing mom to two teen girls as friendly, God-fearing a devoted mother and dance instructor.
Sheriff Health Taylor has promised her loved ones to do everything in his office’s power to get justice for Tameka. The four suspects remained in an Alabama detention facility as they awaited their initial court appearance scheduled for Wednesday morning.