Vernon Shoats Sr., 43, was found dead in his Macon, Georgia, apartment at Hidden Lake Apartments on the evening of January 22, 2017. Deputies from the Bibb County Sheriff’s Office discovered him on the floor with multiple gunshot wounds; he was pronounced dead shortly before 7 p.m. His death was recorded as the first homicide in Macon that year.

The initial investigation centered on a domestic dispute. Tenita Shoats, 45 at the time, told deputies the couple had been arguing and became physically involved before the shooting. She said her husband had been holding a gun, that she took the weapon from him, and that she shot him in the chest and head. She was arrested, charged with murder, booked into the Bibb County Law Enforcement Center and denied bond; a grand jury later indicted her on malice murder and felony murder.

At trial the defense argued self-defense, presenting testimony about a history of domestic violence and Vernon Shoats’s military service and PTSD, including claims he had not taken his medication the night of the shooting. In November 2024 a jury returned a not guilty verdict on all charges, accepting the self-defense claim. Does anyone have information about Vernon’s life or the couple’s relationship that could shed more light on what happened that night?