A woman who been reported missing from Augusta was found shot to death in her boyfriend’s truck in DeKalb County, according to a police report released Wednesday.
And the person who killed Shekema Toran, a 36-year-old mother of three, may have attempted to cover up the crime, according to police.
“It appeared to be a body in the passenger seat with a TV on top of the body concealing the body from view,” an officer wrote in the incident report.
Toran’s body was found Aug. 4 in a 2004 Ford F-250, the truck her boyfriend was driving at the time of her disappearance on July 31. Authorities were called to investigate after the truck was located parked outside a grocery store on Wesley Chapel Road.
The doors were locked, so officers had to break a window to get inside. That’s when Toran’s body was found. She had been shot in the chest, according to the DeKalb medical examiner.
Toran and her boyfriend of two months, Barritz Martin, had been arguing and the woman’s mother asked him to leave her Augusta-area home July 31, according to the Missing People in America Facebook page, which compiles information on various cases. Martin later returned and picked up Toran.
It was the last time Toran’s family saw her alive.
The following day, the Richmond County Sheriff’s Office began looking into Toran’s disappearance. The sheriff’s office said she was believed to be traveling with Martin to the Atlanta area.
DeKalb police are now investigating Toran’s death. No information has been released on whether a suspect has been charged.
Toran’s family created a GoFundMe page to assist with expenses.
“Shekema was deeply loved by her family and friends and made an impact on this community,” the fundraiser’s organizer posted.
The funeral for Toran will be held Saturday in Hephzibah.
About the Author
