A Gwinnett superior court grand jury indicted the mother-in-law of a Conyers woman who was shot to death in a Target parking lot in April.
Police arrested Joanna Hayes, who had been staying in Merriweather County, on Wednesday, after the grand jury pronounced the indictment and an arrest warrant was issued, and taken to the Gwinnett County jail. Hayes was charged with malice murder, felony murder, aggravated assault and possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony for allegedly shooting and killing her daughter-in-law, according Snellville Police Chief Roy Whitehead.
Heather Strube, 25, was shot around 6 p.m. on April 26 in a busy Target parking lot in Snellville. She had just met her estranged husband to pick up her 18-month-old son. The two completed the exchange and her estranged husband drove away. That's when the killer approached. Surveillance video showed that person walking calmly through the parking lot toward Strube's SUV.
Witness statements reportedly indicate the two argued and Strube yelled for help before the killer shot her once in the head in front of her toddler who was inside the vehicle at the time, then walked away and left the parking lot in a white early-90s Ford pickup.
It was clear to authorities that the killer wore a fake mustache and a wig, but surveillance tapes also show a very slender frame and that the killer's height was around 5-feet 7-inches. Witnesses also reportedly told detectives that the killer had no stubble.