On the evening of December 3, 2020, a dispute over care of a feral cat colony behind the Town Square shopping center on West Main Street in Lexington, South Carolina, ended with the death of 72-year-old Judy Dyanne Burnett. Burnett, a Gilbert resident known for feeding and tending the stray cats in the wooded area, got into an argument near the fence line with a witness who was with 49-year-old Sean Eric Malahy. The two had known each other for years and had ongoing disagreements about feeding, trapping, and release of the colony.The verbal confrontation turned physical.

During the altercation Malahy produced a handgun and shot Burnett in the face. Officers arriving on scene found Burnett critically wounded; she died while being transported to a hospital. Police took Malahy into custody at the scene and charged him with murder and possession of a weapon during a violent crime.

The Lexington Police Department and county agencies handled the investigation.Does anyone have information about the dispute over the cat colony or witnessed the events behind Town Square that night?