A man who heard the gunfire early Saturday morning on St. Simons Island that killed a woman took his own weapon to where he heard the shots but was too late to see the suspect, a Glynn County police report of the incident said.
Two employees of Ziggy Mahoney’s, whose names are redacted, told police they heard “three rapid gunshots” that came from the end of the Retreat Village shopping center near Nazzaro’s Italian Restaurant on St. Simons Island at around 1 a.m., the report said. One of the witnesses went to his vehicle to get his gun and explored the area where he heard the shots.
Neither witness saw anyone run from the scene or drive away in a vehicle.
The man who went to investigate the gunshots found Dawn Newbauer, 53, of Brunswick, suffering from a gunshot wound to her head lying on the trunk and rear glass of a Nissan Altima that was parked parallel to the building, the report said.
Using evidence from the scene, collected through search warrants and in the area around the scene, police gathered enough information to arrest Ricky Ricardo Easterling, 50, of Glynn County on Saturday evening and charge him with murder for his alleged role in Newbauer’s death.
Police said in a statement that they retrieved a gun while executing a search warrant.
The witnesses called 911 immediately when they found Newbauer, the report said.
Newbauer worked at Nazzaro’s, according to a Facebook post by the restaurant.
“The Nazzaro’s restaurant family is so saddened by the untimely death of our beloved employee Dawn Newbauer,” the post said.
The restaurant closed Saturday and Sunday to honor her and to give the employees time to grieve, the post said.
Police said Newbauer and Easterling were familiar with each other but did not provide details on how they knew each other. No motive for the shooting was disclosed.
Matt Newbauer, Dawn Newbauer’s stepson who is a law enforcement officer in Seattle, said in a Facebook post on Monday that he is handling the arrangements for his stepmother’s memorial service and thanked the Golden Isles community for the outpouring of support his family has experienced since Saturday.
“Dawn Newbauer is someone that we want to remember, and to celebrate the life that touched so many people,” Matt Newbauer said.
He organized a GoFundMe fundraiser online to help pay for the memorial service that as of Tuesday afternoon had raised more than $10,000.
“We really want to give Mom a great celebration for all the lives she’s touched,” Matt Newbauer said.
