Woman killed in SC K&W Cafeteria parking lot was witness in murder trial
A Shallotte, N.C., woman shot and killed in a North Myrtle Beach parking lot was a witness for the state in April in a 2012 Mecklenburg County, N.C., killing. The case ended in a hung jury.
North Myrtle Beach police are searching for two men in connection with the 11 a.m. Saturday shooting death of Amanda Renee’ Fisher, 29, according to city of North Myrtle Beach spokesman Pat Dowling.
Dowling said witnesses outside the K&W Cafeteria at 1621 U.S. 17 N. on Saturday reported hearing a gunshot ring out and then seeing a man pull a body from a white vehicle before he and another occupant fled in the vehicle.
The two men being sought, whose identities are unknown, “were in the company of the victim on the evening prior to and the morning of her death,” Dowling said.
He said police are investigating “several scenarios” in an attempt to solve the killing.
On April 12, Fisher begrudgingly testified for the state against her boyfriend Deonte Lanier, charged in the 2012 Mecklenburg County killing, according to a report in the Charlotte Observer. At the time she lived in Mount Holly, N.C. When she suddenly moved to Myrtle Beach to avoid testifying, a judge had her arrested and held to ensure her appearance, the Observer reported.
Once on the stand, Fisher’s testimony reportedly was vastly different from the incriminating statements she’d made against Lanier to police immediately following the killing, the paper reported.
The three-week trial ended in a hung jury on all counts except for possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, the paper reported. It’s not immediately clear what sentence Lanier received.
On Lanier’s Facebook page there are several pictures of Fisher and Lanier together, with the last one posted in January 2014.
On Fisher’s Facebook page her last public post was in 2015. She lists her occupation as a nursing aide in Brunswick County, N.C.
Family members could not be reached for comment Monday.
Anyone with information on the men in the photos or Fisher’s killing may contact the North Myrtle Beach Police Department at 843-280-5511.
This story was originally published July 12, 2016 at 8:31 AM with the headline "Woman killed in SC K&W Cafeteria parking lot was witness in murder trial."