Suvechha Sarkar
Vanessa Regina Soyer was an exceptional author and a loving mother of four. However, her life came to an unexpected end in November 2015 in Lawrenceville, Georgia, inside her home, when she was shot multiple times. Her untimely death not only left her family grieving but also the officials searching for answers. The episode titled ‘Lethal Romance’ of Investigation Discovery’s ‘Fatal Vows’ delves deeper into the circumstances surrounding the heartbreaking homicide. Through detailed interviews with her children and best friend, the episode also explores details about Vanessa’s life.
Vanessa Soyer Met Her Untimely Demise From Multiple Gunshot Wounds
The parents of Vanessa Regina Soyer were overcome with joy when they welcomed her into the world sometime in 1968. She and her beloved sister, Marguerite McFadden, were born and raised in Harlem, New York, with their extended family. Marguerite stated that Vanessa had always loved reading and was a woman of faith. Once she completed her studies, she stepped into the position of an Accountant for the New York City Library. Vanessa had always wanted to write her own book, and her passion led her to publish several books on domestic violence, including ‘Scarred by the Blue Sky,’ ‘Blue Sky Turns Gray,’ and ‘Beyond the Blue Skies.’
In adulthood, Vanessa entered a relationship that led to her first marriage. It wasn’t long before Vanessa and her partner welcomed their two daughters, Lanecia and Lachelle Washington, into the world. When she was pregnant with her third child, Lance Washington, her relationship sadly fell apart, which resulted in her separation. Eventually, Vanessa met Sheldon John Soyer, and they soon began dating. They finally got tied the knot after 3 years of their relationship in 2000. Just 2 years later, they gave birth to their son, Teddy. By 2006, the family moved to Charlotte, North Carolina, and spent a few years there before settling in the Greens at Hillcrest Apartments in Lawrenceville, Georgia, in 2014.
However, Vanessa began planning to move to New York by 2015. Things took a dark turn on November 16, 2015. Around 9:37 am, 13-year-old Teddy ran away from the apartment when he witnessed Vanessa getting shot and called 911 from outside the apartment to report the incident. When officials arrived at the scene, they found the 47-year-old dead from multiple gunshot wounds in an upstairs room. The autopsy uncovered that she was shot 13 times with a 9 mm handgun. Her official cause of death was determined to be multiple gunshot wounds. Her manner of death was classified as a homicide.
Vanessa Soyer’s Youngest Son Led Authorities to His Mother’s Killer
When authorities reached Vanessa’s apartment, they met with a distraught Teddy. Official records indicated that he informed officials that his mother had returned the previous day from a trip to New York and that he had heard her and his father, Sheldon, arguing in the upstairs room. He went on to say that shortly after, Sheldon called his son upstairs, and when the 13-year-old entered the room, he saw his father pushing Vanessa down and shooting her. In his statements, Teddy told officials that Vanessa’s husband then threatened to shoot him, but the child ran outside. Reports state that officials also spoke to a neighbor, Fatimah Howard, who consoled Teddy when he ran out of the apartment and told the neighbor what his father had done.
Another neighbor reported to the investigators that he had seen Sheldon fleeing from the scene shortly after the shooting. The law enforcement officials then learned from Vanessa’s family that she had just returned from a trip to New York on November 15, 2015, after meeting her friends and relatives. They further revealed that she was considering separating from Sheldon during that trip, as per records. According to Marguerite’s statements on the show, Vanessa’s husband previously suffered a heart attack and allegedly grew distant from his wife in the last few years after he stopped working due to his health condition.
As authorities continued searching for Sheldon, they received a tip from his brother on November 17, 2015. The latter told the police that Sheldon wanted to turn himself in and was at a Shell gas station on Sugarloaf Parkway. Vanessa’s husband was ultimately arrested at the location on that same day and was charged with felony murder, cruelty to children, possession of a firearm during a crime, and aggravated assault. When he was interrogated at the station, he claimed that his relationship with Vanessa was initially going well but had deteriorated over time. As per police records, Sheldon confessed that he snapped and shot his wife.
Sheldon Soyer Remains Incarcerated at a Georgia Prison Facility Today
After Sheldon Soyer was taken into custody, he was held in jail without bond. He had initially pleaded not guilty to all charges against him. During a preliminary hearing in 2015, a judge ruled that there was probable cause to move the case forward to a jury trial. However, before the trial could begin, the defendant pleaded guilty to murder, cruelty to children, possession of a firearm during a crime, and two counts of aggravated assault on October 16, 2017.
Before the sentencing, Teddy bravely stood on the stand and recounted the events of that fateful day. He also expressed his grief, stating, “13 years was not long enough to have had his mother.” Ultimately, Sheldon was sentenced to life in prison, and he also received an additional 5-year term for the count of firearm possession. As of writing, he is serving his sentence at the Calhoun State Prison in Morgan, Georgia.
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