An Alabama woman, Genesis P. Tanksley, 27, was apprehended on New Year’s Day, accused of fatally shooting her former spouse and subsequently leaving his body at a local hospital. Tanksley was charged with a single count of murder in connection to the death of Lazarus Tanksley, according to official records.
The Mobile Police Department’s Homicide Unit was alerted around 1 a.m. on January 1st about a deceased African American male at a hospital. Hospital staff informed the officers that the deceased had been brought in by an African American woman driving a silver Lexus SUV. The woman, later identified as Genesis Tanksley, was described as having braided hair with red tips.
The victim was identified as Lazarus Tanksley, and officers were dispatched to his residence on St. Stephens Road, approximately 240 miles southwest of Birmingham. The sheriff’s office assumed control of the investigation shortly after.
A male witness at the scene, who claimed to have been present during the shooting, was contacted by investigators. The witness reportedly assisted a woman in moving Lazarus Tanksley into the silver Lexus SUV. Although he did not know the woman’s name, he identified her as the victim’s ex-wife and described her as an African American woman with braided hair tipped in red.
A second witness reached out to the sheriff’s Major Crimes Unit around 11 a.m. on Wednesday regarding the incident. The witness alleged to have been at the scene when the shooting occurred. The witness claimed that she had accompanied Genesis Tanksley to the victim’s residence, heard an argument followed by a gunshot, and then fled the scene on foot. She has not seen or spoken to Genesis Tanksley since the incident.
Genesis Tanksley was taken into custody and is currently being held without bond at the Mobile County Jail. This is not her first encounter with law enforcement. Both Genesis and Lazarus Tanksley were arrested in October 2024 related to a domestic violence incident. Police had responded to multiple domestic violence calls from the St. Stephens Road residence, leading to the arrest of both individuals. However, Genesis Tanksley reportedly evaded arrest, leading police on a 30-minute car chase in a silver Lexus SUV before being apprehended.