NEWBERRY COUNTY, S.C. — Three years ago today, a woman was found shot and left to die alongside a Newberry County road.
On the anniversary of Sharonda Sims' death, Newberry County Sheriff Lee Foster is once again asking those who have information about the brutal killing to come forward.
"We know there are people with information, and we ask for them to come forward,” the sheriff said. “This is about doing the right thing and being part of promoting a safer community.”
On Sept. 19, 2019, a Newberry officer reportedly heard shots fired in the Helena community - shots that would precede the discovery of the 40-year-old victim along Drayton Street. She was wounded and not moving, authorities said. And soon, she was pronounced dead.
Three years later, a security camera recording of a muzzle flash on a dimply-lit road remains a reminder of what happened but has provided little more in the way of clues.
Sheriff Foster is now hoping that the third anniversary and a photo of the victim will jog someone's memory. And, if nothing else, he hopes they remember that her death had a far-reaching impact.
“Sharonda was someone’s daughter, a sibling, and a mother," he said in a statement shared online. "How would you feel if someone was holding critical information that could help you provide closure in your loss?”
In renewing the call to action for those in Newberry County and beyond, authorities are hoping that one phone call could provide the information that brings new hope to a heartbreaking cold case.
Anyone with information can call the sheriff's office at 803-321-2211 or, to report anonymously, Crime Stoppers at 1-888-CRIME-SC.