By Laura Barnett

In February 2026, Mark Odom is scheduled to reappear in general sessions court in Henry County, Tennessee, charged with the murder of Kristiana Shook-Livingston, who had been residing in Murfreesboro. Despite the mysteries surrounding the killing of this young woman, there has been little public outcry or media coverage regarding it.

One can’t help but wonder, if Kristiana wasn’t a homeless woman, would there be more anger and outcry regarding her senseless slaying and more calls to bring her perpetrator(s) to justice?

Though much mystery shrouds her final days on this earth, much of her life was not mysterious. The unanswered questions surrounding her final days stand in contrast to her recent life in a tent behind Petsense in Murfreesboro; here, maintaining her privacy must be weighed with the sharing of her story, lest she vanish unremembered and forgotten, as many homeless women do.

Kristiana Renae Shook-Livingston was born in Oklahoma on Aug. 12, 1994. She was a few months away from her 31st birthday when she was slain. According to childhood best friend, Tyesha Wilson, Kristiana seemed like your average girl next door growing up. She was into drawing and making art, sports, painting her nails and talking on the phone. She loved wearing bright colors and dreamed of one day being a teacher. She loved to laugh and was described by those closest to her as joyous, bubbly, positive, encouraging and never having a bad thing to say about anyone.

By all accounts she was selfless and a giver.

“She was the kind of person who would give you the shirt off her back,” said her five-years-younger brother Marc, reflecting on when Kristiana had given him the best gift he ever received as a kid, a PlayStation she must have saved for weeks to buy.

But outward appearances aside, Kristiana was not your typical girl next door. After her parents’ divorce in her early years, she lived briefly with her father and sister. Sadly, it was the sisters who discovered the lifeless body of their father when they tried to wake him up from a nap. After the death of their father, followed by a brief time of custody with their mother, Kristiana and her sister were enrolled in the foster care system in Arkansas.

Eventually they were adopted out to Toya and Max Livingston, and joined by an adopted younger brother, Marc. After graduating from high school, Kristiana left the nest to seek her destiny. She eventually moved to Murfreesboro and worked at Dunkin Donuts, Bargain Hunt and Dollar General, and was known and loved by many in the community.

She had a young daughter who she loved very much, but who was being raised by an adopted family.

According to Toya, she made some mistakes like all young people, but generally learned from them. But Kristiana really struggled to get her feet under her after her relationship turned sour and she ended up on the streets. She did not mention the fact that she was homeless to family or friends (likely because she didn’t want anyone to worry about her) and they only became aware of her dismal life circumstances in another state after her body was discovered, abandoned near a parking lot, in the Gin Creek Wildlife Management Area in Henry County, Tennessee.

The woman had a difficult life, but seemed focused on trying to improve her circumstances. As if discovering her deceased father as a child wasn’t traumatic enough, Kristiana, a product of the foster care system, was no stranger to abuse herself. But she never complained, she forgave her perpetrators and had a deep desire to reconnect with her sister.

Toya found out about her daughter’s death on Mothers’ Day, after going through rehab for a bad fall.

A week before her death, they had made plans for Kristiana to take a bus back to Beebe, Arkansas.

According to Toya, around that time is when Kristiana met Mark Odom.

“No one really knows what happened after that.”

After first learning about this story, I tried to let it go. Weeks later, when I decided to abandon the initial impulse to know more, her brother responded to my message. He ended up sharing so much with me, and I was moved by his story and connection with his sister. Suddenly, I owed it to him and the other family members and friends whom I ended up contacting after that to push the story, her story, out. It has been said that the telling of her story has helped bring healing, and I am honored to have unexpectedly become a catalyst in that process.

It is my hope also that awareness is brought to the community for reasons of safety and justice in light of this senseless tragedy.

In memory of her spirit, I pray for justice for Kristiana Renee Shook-Livingston and healing for those close to her.