A man has been charged with murder over the death of a woman in Georgia, who was fatally shot as she tried to confront burglars breaking into her home.
Marquel Heard, 33, was arrested in Birmingham, Alabama, on Thursday, almost four months after the killing in DeKalb County.
Investigators said that 36-year-old Ana Scott had arrived home on September 20, 2025, as the burglary was taking place. One of the three suspects fired into her car and hit her.
Officers from the DeKalb County Sheriff’s Office arrived at the scene and found her Jeep filled with bullet holes. Scott was taken to the hospital but later died of her injuries.
Investigators believed that Scott had become aware of the burglary after being notified by her Ring doorbell camera, which showed the intruders breaking into her home.
Heard is charged with felony murder and criminal attempt to commit burglary. He is currently being held in Jefferson County Jail in Alabama, while awaiting extradition to DeKalb County.
The identity of the other two men is still unknown, as well as any possible connection to Scott.
Police have not commented further on either suspect.
Scott had a love of animals and was an aspiring veterinarian, her family said, in a statement shared with Channel 2 Action News. She had been working at a veterinary clinic in Decatur before her death.
“Our family is heartbroken by the death of our Ana. We are devastated that her life was so prematurely taken from us and from those who loved her so much,” the statement read.
“Ana was a warm and caring person. The brutal nature of her death shocks our family to our core, and we want to see her killers brought to justice.”
