Woman convicted of husband’s 2019 killing

A Dekalb County woman who fatally shot her husband while he was on the phone with a 911 dispatcher was convicted Saturday in the 2019 killing, authorities said.

Aimee Heyward, 48, killed her husband, Bruce, during an argument at the couple’s Lithonia home, police said previously.

Officers were called to the house on Edenberry Way on Feb. 25, 2019, after receiving reports of a person shot. Investigators said Bruce Heyward, 49, was found in the entryway of the home with a gunshot wound to the chest.

“Though he struggled to talk, he was able to tell responding officers that his wife shot him,” Dekalb prosecutors said.

Bruce Heyward was rushed to a hospital but later died of his injuries.

Investigators said the shooting was the second time police had been called to the home that night.

Earlier, Dekalb police responded to a domestic dispute between the Heywards, but neither was willing to leave the home for the evening, authorities said. Police separated the two into different bedrooms and left. Hours later, Bruce Heyward called 911 and said his wife forced her way into his room and held a gun to his head.

“While the victim was on the phone with 911, the defendant fired a shot, striking him in the chest,” prosecutors said. “The gunshot was captured on the 911 call and heard by the couple’s 16-year-old daughter, who rushed downstairs to her father’s aid.”

Officers later found Aimee Heyward walking through the neighborhood carrying a backpack containing the spent 9 mm shell casing. Police K-9s discovered the murder weapon in a nearby storm drain, officials said.

Last weekend, a Dekalb jury returned guilty verdicts on charges of felony murder, aggravated assault, cruelty to children and possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony in the 49-year-old’s slaying.

Heyward’s sentencing hearing is set for a later date, the Dekalb County District Attorney’s Office said.

Aimee Heyward killed her husband in an argument at the couple’s Lithonia home, police said.