By Joe Johnson
Esnati Gurura was talking on the phone about her boyfriend’s concerning behavior on the night of Nov. 4, 2024.
That’s when she was murdered by the boyfriend, Kendall Boone, who police say shot her in the head.
The scenario is laid out In law enforcement records that were recently filed in Superior Court.
According to arrest warrant affidavits, Gurura and Boone had been in a tempestuous relationship for several years, one that police characterized as aggressive and controlling.
Coworkers described for investigators a pattern of jealous behaviors that included Boone showing up randomly at the workplace as to keep tabs on Gurura.
Neighbors reported hearing yelling and sounds of fighting from the couple’s Royale Road apartment.
Gurura’s death was actually brought to the attention of police by Boone himself, when on November 5 he showed up at the Lexington Road police headquarters and told an officer that a dead body was in his apartment.
He agreed to show police where the apartment was, but officers lost sight of Boone in traffic. Police then learned from property management that Boone shared the apartment with his girlfriend, Gurura, and when conducting a welfare check officers found the 48-year-old woman dead from gunshot wounds to the face and neck.
The phone on the floor near Gurura’s right hand suggested that she had been holding it when killed.
Detectives later learned that at the time of her death, Gurura was having a phone conversation with a family member about Boone being in possession of a gun and behaving suicidal.
Boone claimed that he wasn’t in the apartment when Gurura was killed.
He told police that they were in the process of moving to a new place on West Park Drive and upon hearing gunshots he ran up into the apartment and found his girlfriend dead on the floor and heard the sound of someone running away.
Boone claimed to have gaps in his memory of what he did after finding Gurura’s body but admitted going to the new apartment and taking a shower.
When police asked him why he didn’t immediately report his girlfriend’s death, Boone “stated that he did not know what to do.”
He speculated that because he’s in the field of cybersecurity one of the criminals he has investigated could have killed Gurura.
Prior to arresting Boone, police noted that they located a spent 9mm shell casing at the crime scene and found magazines for a 9mm pistol at the West Park Drive apartment.
A grand jury in January indicted Boone on charges of malice murder, felony murder, aggravated assault, and possession of a firearm in the commission of a felony.
He pleaded not guilty to all charges at an arraignment and he’s being held at the county jail without bail.
Anyone who is in an abusive relationship can seek advice and support services by calling Project Safe's 24-hour hotline at (706) 543-3331, or by visiting http://www.project-safe.org