A postal worker’s estranged boyfriend accused in her murder pleaded guilty to beating a previous girlfriend a year ago, according to court records.
Quantez D’Ante Tyre, 22, waited outside Tyrika Terrell’s job and fatally shot her in the head Monday night, DeKalb County police said Wednesday.
She had worked as a United States Postal Service city carrier assistant for less than a month.
Terrell, 22, was found underneath a USPS truck, bleeding from the head, according to a redacted police report obtained by The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Tyre, who shares a 6-month-old daughter with Terrell, is wanted in the murder.
Tyre doesn’t have any recent domestic violence arrests, but a 2016 Atlanta police report alleged he beat an ex-girlfriend in her apartment building. The two had ended their relationship two weeks before the attack.
The victim was attempting to get on an elevator at her apartment complex when Tyre “appeared irritated and began yelling at her on sight,” according to the report. Tyre continued yelling as she got on the elevator.
Credit: Channel 2 Action News
Credit: Channel 2 Action News
As the woman exited the elevator, Tyree grabbed her, pulled her to the ground and began assaulting her, the report states. A neighbor broke up the altercation. The woman suffered a cut on her right hand.
Tyre pleaded guilty to a charge of battery of substantial physical harm and was sentenced to 12 months of probation and domestic violence counseling.
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Terrell’s mother, Eugenia Terrell-Grant, told Channel 2 Action News that Tyre called her the night of her daughter’s murder.
“I can’t imagine what was going through his head. Why would you want to take the mother of (your) child?” Terrell-Grant told Channel 2.
A truck driver backing up to the loading dock discovered Terrell’s body, leading authorities to believe she was hit by the vehicle, according to the police report. Terrell was taken to Grady Memorial Hospital, where she was pronounced dead.
Terrell-Grant told Channel 2 she didn’t make it to the hospital in time to say goodbye.
“‘Rika,’ as we affectionally called her, was rushed to the hospital — but there was nothing doctors could do,” Terrell-Grant wrote in a GoFundMe post. “Now as a grandmother, I am forced to have to raise my granddaughter on my own. I will be forced to explain why mommy isn't coming home.”
Anyone with information about the whereabouts of Tyre is asked to call the DeKalb County Police Department at 770-724-7850 or CrimeStoppers at 404- 577-8477. All tips will remain anonymous.
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