Dr. Yvonne Nelson was an educator and community activist who tried to make the lives of Memphis, Tennessee residents better.

Nelson, 60, was lauded for her work, even being recently recognized by the state of Tennessee for her efforts to stop a legal dumping and other environmental harms in her community.  

Police said that Nelson was shot to death about 11 p.m. on Saturday, August 13, 2022. While few details have been released about circumstances leading up to the murder, Memphis police said the shooting occurred during an argument about money. 

 The shooter sped away in Nelson’s late-model Infiniti, according to several witnesses who heard gunfire.

“It’s just shocking news to all of us. We never would’ve thought that would have happened to her,” neighbor Robert Webber told WREG.

Nelson was an alumnae of LeMoyne-Owen College and received her doctorate from Capella University, according to online records.

Tifanee Wright, 33, was captured by the U.S. Marshals around 2 a.m. Thursday, August 24, 2022, the U.S. Marshals announced.

“The Two Rivers Task Force, Shelby County Fugitive Apprehension Team, and Memphis Police Fugitive Apprehension Team went to an address in the 2000 block of Stoneway Lane in Memphis to apprehend Wright,” the U.S. Marshals service said in a news release. “The  front door was barricaded with a couch, but investigators were able to communicate with and “call-out” Wright. She surrendered without incident and was taken into custody.”She was jailed and charges of second-degree murder.

The murder has enraged many of the residents of Memphis.

Dr. Kevin Andre Brooks, Pastor of Providence AME Church and co-host of Memphis State of the City talk show, said at a press conference.

“We cannot learn to live with violence, the death of Yvonne Nelson and the recent death in the United Methodist Church should make all of us in the city outraged,” Brooks said. “We are here because we are outraged and we’re wondering why the citizens of Memphis are not outraged.

She was jailed and charges of second-degree murder.