A 23-year-old Tennessee woman was shot dead at a petrol station where she worked the midnight shift only hours having sent distressing text messages to friends expressing safety concerns just before her life was taken.
The incident unfolded at a convenience store in Johnson City, Tennessee, where Tava Woodard, a clerk at the Roadrunner Market on North Broadway, had expressed concerns about safety just hours before she was shot.
Police have since charged a father and son in connection with her murder.
Tava had sent text messages to friends and co-workers on June 2, detailing a recent shoplifting incident and expressing her desire to find a new job.
Sadly, shortly after her distressing messages, two masked men identified as Mark Sexton Jr., 41, and his son Mark Sexton III, 18, entered the store and proceeded to steal money from her at gunpoint, as reported by WJHL.
As the perpetrators were leaving, one of them allegedly turned around and fired a fatal shot, striking Tava.
When the police arrived on the scene approximately eight minutes later, they found her lifeless body lying on the ground.
A 9mm shell casing and two blue nitrile gloves were discovered in a nearby alley.
These gloves matched the ones worn by the suspects in the surveillance video.
Additionally, another glove was found near the Sextons’ residence, approximately nine blocks away from the crime scene.
According to Mirror, police obtained a warrant and apprehended Sexton Jr. as he was driving a vehicle with an expired registration, accompanied by his wife and another individual.
During the subsequent search of the Sextons’ residence, the police discovered scrubs and other clothing items that matched those seen in the convenience store surveillance footage.
They also found blue gloves and a 9mm round with the same stamp as the casing recovered at the scene.
Sexton Jr. was charged with first-degree murder, aggravated robbery, and driving an unregistered vehicle, while his son, Sexton III, faced charges of first-degree murder, aggravated robbery, possession of a firearm during the commission of a dangerous felony, and tampering with evidence.
Melissa Jones, Woodard’s mother, spoke to the People about her daughter’s concerns regarding her workplace.
‘She texted that she didn’t feel safe there anymore,” Jones revealed. All of her co-workers have stated that the ‘panic button’ under the counter wasn’t working — and wasn’t even hooked up.
A poignant detail emerged about Tava’s last communication with her 15-year-old sister, Addie Blazer.
She had sent Addie a meme stating, ‘If I die, don’t you dare release a bunch of balloons. I want you to plant flowers for me, so that I can continue to grow.’
In light of this, the family is now urging people to honor Woodard’s memory by planting flowers to keep her spirit alive.
Johnson City Police Chief Billy Church described the case as one of the most heartbreaking he had encountered in his nearly 30 years of law enforcement experience.
