Phelifia Michele Marlow, 51, was shot and killed on January 13, 2021, at her workplace, TCS Designs, in Hickory, North Carolina. She worked there as an upholsterer. The shooting followed a workplace dispute with co-worker Tangela Louise Parker. Parker, who had been suspended for three days after the dispute, returned to the shop and shot Marlow in the chest with a .357 Magnum revolver. Marlow tried to flee but was shot again in the back of the head and died at the scene.

After the killing, Tangela Parker and her husband, Eric Parker, fled and evaded authorities for months, reportedly using fake identities, changing their appearance and living in their car for periods while taking odd jobs. Federal marshals offered a $10,000 reward for information leading to their capture, and Tangela Parker was later charged with second-degree murder and pleaded guilty, receiving a 20 to 25 year prison sentence. Marlow’s family and friends gathered to remember her on what would have been her 52nd birthday and expressed disbelief and grief over the loss.

Did anyone who worked at TCS Designs or lived in Hickory around that time have information that could shed more light on the dispute or the days before the shooting?