Valdosta Man Charged With Murder After Woman Found Dead on Roadside

A 39-year-old Valdosta man has been arrested after a woman was found dead late Friday night in the 300 block of Wisenbaker Lane.

Police said a caller reported seeing a woman lying on the side of the road around 11 p.m. on November 7. When officers arrived, they found 22-year-old Prenesha Holmes unresponsive with visible injuries. Emergency crews confirmed she was deceased at the scene.

Detectives determined that Holmes had been physically assaulted and struck by a vehicle. Investigators identified a pickup truck seen in the area and issued a notice to other law enforcement agencies to help locate it.

A Lowndes County deputy later found the truck at a residence and contacted the owner, identified as 39-year-old William Anderson Smith. Evidence linked both Smith and Holmes to the vehicle, and investigators believe a physical altercation took place inside before Smith allegedly struck Holmes with the truck.

Smith was arrested and booked into the Lowndes County Jail on charges of felony murder, aggravated assault, and hit and run. Holmes’ body was sent to the Georgia Bureau of Investigation Medical Examiner’s Office for an autopsy.

Police said the case appears to be an isolated incident and that there is no ongoing threat to the community.