South Memphis prostitute killings
The South Memphis prostitute killings were a series of killings that occurred throughout South Memphis, Tennessee, in early 2011. Within the span of a month, four female sex workers were shot, three of them fatally, by an unidentified assailant. The murder of a fourth woman in the same area in 2015 may also be linked to the case, but no arrests have been made thus far.
Murders
Beginning on January 27, 2011, South Memphis was struck by a series of seemingly random shootings targeting female prostitutes. At around 2:15 a.m. that day, the body of 31-year-old Tamakia McKinney was found near Mt. Carmel Cemetery; she had been shot to death. McKinney, a mother of two, had no known arrests for prostitution, but her family stated that they had known she was a prostitute and had told her husband. At around 12:05 p.m. on February 20, a woman flagged down a police vehicle and led them to the body of 28-year-old Jessica Lewis, which was inside Mt. Carmel Cemetery; also a prostitute, she too had been shot to death.At around 5:45 a.m. on February 24, officers patrolling the area around Mt. Carmel Cemetery found the body of 44-year-old Rhonda Wells, who had been shot to death. Wells, a prostitute, had been living with her grandmother prior to her death. At around 7:30 p.m. on February 26, the killer struck for the last time when he shot 26-year-old Katrina Peterson. Peterson survived and ran four blocks, finding safety and being rushed to Regional Medical Center, where she slowly recovered.