Sara J. Stanley, a 38-year-old woman from Mineral, Virginia, was shot and killed on July 31, 2022, after a night of escalating threats and violence on West 8th Street. Deputies responding to reports of gunfire found shell casings, a backpack stained with blood and signs of a struggle; a lanyard with Stanley’s name and a scent trail led a K-9 to an unused tool shed where her body was discovered. Neighbors reported shots and vehicles leaving the scene in haste.

According to later court findings, the relationship between Stanley and Chad Allen Grooms had broken down amid threats, control and drug activity. Testimony described Grooms forcing Stanley to deliver crack cocaine, then becoming enraged when that transaction went wrong. On July 29, 2022, Grooms allegedly smashed a window, forced his way into Stanley’s home and struck her; the next night he returned, shot her multiple times as she fled, and one shot proved fatal.

Grooms was indicted on multiple felonies including first-degree murder, use of a firearm in the commission of murder, possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, concealing a dead body and related conspiracy and destruction-of-evidence charges; testimony at trial traced the threats and the events of those nights. If anyone knew Sara, her movements that week, or has information about the people involved, please come forward.