A man accused of murdering a woman early Saturday morning on St. Simons Island remains in the Glynn County Detention Center.
Glynn County police arrested Ricky Ricardo Easterling, 50, Saturday for allegedly shooting and killing Dawn Newbauer, 53, of Glynn County, a statement from the police department said.
Officers were called to Retreat Village shopping center on St. Simons Island at around 1 a.m. after receiving reports of shots being fired in the area.
Police found Newbauer with a gunshot wound in her upper body, the release said. Attempts by Glynn County Fire and Rescue to save her were unsuccessful, and she was pronounced dead at the scene.
Newbauer’s body was sent to the Georgia Bureau of Investigation’s lab in Pooler for an autopsy and other forensic examinations, the release said.
Detectives found a gun while serving search warrants in the case and also found evidence at the scene that helped them identify Easterling as the attacker, police said.
Easterling faces charges of felony murder, possession of a firearm during the commission of a crime and two counts of possession of a firearm by a convicted felon.
Police are asking anyone with more information to contact the Silent Witness line at 912-264-1333.
Matt Newbauer, who wrote on a GoFundMe fundraiser that he is Dawn Newbauer’s stepson, said she was a “loving and selfless mother, taking my sister Renee and I in as her own children when we were very young. Dawn then gave birth to her sons Aaron and David, whom she cherished with every fiber of her being.”
Dawn Newbauer was killed outside Nazzaro’s, the restaurant where she worked, Matt Newbauer said.
In a Facebook post linked to the fundraiser, he said the family is in shock.
“The shooter is in custody, but the details are too much to bear,” he said.
The family is spread around the country, the fundraiser page said, and they want to give Dawn Newbauer “the memorial she deserves.” The fundraising goal of $6,000 was met Sunday morning.
“We love you mom, and I’m so sorry this happened to you,” Matt Newbauer wrote. “We will fight for justice and always remember the love and laughter you shared with us. Thank you for everything, mom.”
