Loved ones of a young woman slain in a domestic shooting say police didn’t do enough to protect her

First they heard the bangs. Then the shattering glass.

Sahmya Garcia, 20, and her roommate, Kaitlynn Todd, stood shaking in the kitchen of their South Philadelphia apartment. Garcia’s ex-boyfriend, Marcus Burney, was outside, pounding on their building door, according to Todd, who gave this account:

He kicked in the door, then walked into the two-unit rowhouse. Unsure which of the two units was Garcia’s, he threw a cinder block through the window of their neighbor’s door.

It was around noon on Sunday, Nov. 6. Garcia and Todd called 911, and police quickly arrived. But by then, Burney was gone, leaving a trail of blood on the wall from cuts sustained from the broken glass. But because the women had only heard his voice, not seen him, police said there wasn’t enough evidence to arrest him. The officers urged Garcia to file a restraining order against Burney, but for now, they said, there was nothing they could do.

“I made the comment to them like one of us is going to have to end up dead before you guys do something,” Todd, 23, said in a recent interview.

That evening, Garcia got an emergency protection-from-abuse order against Burney.

But two days later, she was dead.

Shortly before 8 a.m. on Nov. 8 — just moments after police unsuccessfully tried to serve the restraining order to Burney, who wasn’t home — police say Burney spotted Garcia as she walked to work. He got out of his truck at the corner of Broad and Ellsworth Streets, they said, and shot her 10 times with a ghost gun.

Garcia was just four blocks from 3rd District police headquarters, and one block from work.

She was rushed to Penn Presbyterian Hospital, but died shortly after.

SEPTA police officers nearby heard the shots and saw Burney, 41, running from the scene. The transit police said Burney tried to flee in his car, but crashed, and when he emerged, gun in hand, the officers shot him twice in the leg and shoulder. After being treated for his injuries, Burney was charged with murder and weapons offenses.

His attorney, Edward Meehan Jr., declined to comment. Burney was denied bail and remains in custody at a Philadelphia jail.

Garcia’s death has shattered her friends and family, and reenergized domestic-violence advocates’ concerns about the rise in the number of domestic-related homicides in Philadelphia, especially by gun.

And Garcia’s loved ones are questioning whether law enforcement did enough to protect her in the weeks before the shooting, when they say she was in touch with police multiple times about the ongoing violence.

“They absolutely failed to protect her,” said Roseann Morrison, Garcia’s mom.

Philadelphia Police Department spokesperson Eric Gripp said in a statement that the department has opened an internal investigation into the case and was examining all interactions Garcia had with officers.

“While we cannot comment on the particulars of an active investigation, it is the policy to investigate every report of domestic violence as a criminal offense that merits a strong and swift police response. Victims are to be treated with the utmost compassion, courtesy, and respect,” Gripp said.

The concerns expressed by Garcia’s family and friends come at a time when questions are also being raised about police response to reports of domestic disturbances and arguments at a Northeast Philadelphia home where a woman was found decapitated late last month. Police had been called to the house 21 times in the last year. Police have charged a man who lived with her with murder.

Sahmya Heaven Garcia was born in Paulsboro, Gloucester County, and raised in South Jersey. She was the second oldest of four children, and survived leukemia as a child. Bubbly and outgoing, she could make conversation with a total stranger, friends said. She was a striking brunette who carefully tended to her appearance. Since February, she had been working as a security officer at the Target on Broad and Ellsworth, where she made friends easily and was well-liked.

Garcia met Burney after a party about a year and half ago, Todd said, and soon moved into his South Philadelphia apartment.

Garcia was very private. Her parents said they never met Burney. They didn’t know his name or age, and were unaware of the abuse.

But Garcia confided in her friend. About six months ago, Todd said, Garcia told her Burney choked her until she passed out. Todd assured her that if she ever needed help or a place to stay, she was there for her.

Then, on Oct. 14, Burney attacked Garcia again, Todd said, kicking her down a flight of stairs and choking her. She called police, and officers responded and filed a domestic incident report, but made no arrest.

Garcia was briefly hospitalized for the injuries she sustained that day. She had visible lacerations to her neck, side, and chest, police records show.

That evening, Garcia met with South Detectives. But she didn’t want to pursue the case, even as detectives followed up with her in the next few days, said Joanne Pescatore, chief prosecutor of the District Attorney’s Homicide Unit.

It’s not uncommon for victims of domestic violence to decline to press charges against their abusers, said Katie Young-Wildes, spokesperson for Women Against Abuse. Survivors often feel isolated and embarrassed or fear that no one will believe them. Taking action, like leaving the relationship, can also escalate violence and place the victim in greater danger, Young-Wildes said.

And without the victim’s cooperation, domestic-violence cases are difficult to prosecute.

After her hospitalization, Garcia moved out of Burney’s apartment, Todd said, and, taking only what she could carry, moved into Todd’s South Philadelphia apartment. The women then found a new place together — near 17th and Moore Streets — and moved in at the beginning of November.

But Burney’s abusive behavior escalated, Todd said. He would drive around South Philadelphia, searching for Garcia, and called nonstop, threatening them and himself. One morning, he found Garcia as she walked to work. He threw her against a truck, then forced her to ride in his car for several hours before letting her go, she told Todd.

On Oct. 27, Todd said, Garcia went to the police station, hoping to get the documents needed for a restraining order. But she left upset, and when she returned home, she told Todd she felt as if the police were blaming her, and didn’t want to give her the help she needed.

“Pls look up some lawyers for me Kait,” Garcia texted Todd. “Im suing the police. I’m pissed.”

Burney’s harassment and stalking continued, Todd said. Then, on Nov. 6, he found out where the two women lived, and broke into the building.

After police said they could not arrest Burney on that day, Todd and Garcia went to the Criminal Justice Center to seek a protection-from-abuse order.

Garcia told a hearing officer what happened, and the emergency order was granted. She then had to take a copy of the order to the police station nearest to where Burney lives, so an officer could serve it to him.

That is standard protocol for emergency orders, said Molly Callahan, director of Women Against Abuse’s Legal Center. On weekdays, a sheriff’s officer picks up and delivers the order, but in after-hours emergency circumstances, she said, it’s often faster for the person seeking protection to take it to the police station.

But Todd and Garcia didn’t have a car, and knowing Burney was still out there, they didn’t feel safe walking to the station, Todd said. They called police in the 1st District — where they live — and the 3rd District — where Burney lives — and asked whether an officer could pick up the order or escort them to the station.

“She was literally pleading to them, like we’re not safe to walk there,” Todd said.

Both districts said no, Todd said. The policy was that they had to bring it in themselves.

Two days later, Garcia left home before 7 a.m., and walked one mile to the 3rd District on her way to work, to drop off the order. Police went to serve the order to Burney that morning, but he wasn’t home.

As Garcia walked the five blocks from the police station to Target, Burney shot her, police said.

Garcia’s family and Todd question why police could not have made an exception and picked up the protection order from Garcia on Sunday evening, right after it was granted.

Gripp, the Police Department spokesperson, said “all calls that require a PFA service are given priority” at the district tasked with serving the order, but could not comment further.

“The PPD takes all reports of domestic violence seriously, and wants to assure the public that we will do everything in our power to seek justice for victims,” he said, adding that “there are many stakeholders outside of law enforcement that have a role to play in addressing domestic violence.”

Burney has a lengthy criminal record, with convictions for assault, carrying a gun without a license, and drug possession, and he served brief stints in prison. He also has a history of violence.

In 2017, he broke into the home of a longtime partner, punched her, and threatened to kill her, according to court records. The woman obtained a protection-from-abuse order, but Burney continued to show up outside of her place of work, court records show, slashing her tires and circling her neighborhood in his car.

Burney was later arrested for violating the order, according to the records. He pleaded guilty to defiant trespassing and making terroristic threats, and was sentenced to up to a year in prison, and at least two years’ probation.

Although he is prohibited from owning a gun, Burney used a ghost gun — the largely unregulated and untraceable weapons that law enforcement officials say are flooding Philadelphia’s streets — to shoot Garcia, according to Pescatore, the city prosecutor.

As shootings continue at a record pace across the city, the number of people killed in domestic-related incidents has also been rising, according to police data. In 2019 and 2020, 45 people were slain in domestic-related incidents. In 2021 and 2022, through Sunday, the number of victims has risen to 80, a 78% increase.

Research shows the connection between gun violence and domestic abuse: Women in abusive relationships are five times more likely to be killed if the partner owns a gun.

Of the women killed in homicides this year and last, domestic violence was determined to be the motive behind a third of the cases.

The victims have included Leila Al Raheel, 41, killed this month by a man who police say lived with her. Sykea Patton, 24, who police say was fatally shot by her ex-boyfriend while walking with her 5-year-old twins. And Eloise Harman, 55, who was shot five times by her estranged partner, police say, after getting a protection-from-abuse order against him.

And so far this year, 37 people have been killed in domestic disputes. Just over half were women.

“This is not a private issue. This is not a women’s issue” said Young-Wildes, of Women Against Abuse. “This is a threat to public health and safety.”