A 39-year-old man has been charged with second-degree murder after prosecutors said he shot his girlfriend in the back of the head inside her home while three of her children were there, then fled before police caught him nearby.
The case moved quickly from a fatal shooting Tuesday evening to a Friday arraignment, but many of the facts that would explain why the woman was killed have not been released. Prosecutors identified the defendant as Zachary Fuqua, of Center Line, and the victim as Erica Marie Sanders, 38. Beyond the charge list and a brief account of the shooting, officials have not publicly described what led to the gunfire, whether there had been earlier calls to the home or what the children told investigators after the killing.
Authorities said the shooting happened about 5:30 p.m. on March 17 at Sanders’ home on Sterling Street near Van Dyke in Center Line, a small city in Macomb County surrounded by larger suburban communities north of Detroit. Prosecutors said Sanders was in the kitchen when Fuqua shot her once in the back of the head. Police officers who reached the house found her with a gunshot wound and later confirmed that she had died. Three of Sanders’ four children, ages 5 to 17, were inside the home at the time, according to investigators. Officials have not said where the fourth child was. Prosecutors told the court the children were not physically hurt, but the allegation that they were present during the killing immediately turned the case from a routine homicide filing into one centered on trauma inside a family home. After the shooting, authorities said, Fuqua ran from the house on foot.
By the time Fuqua stood before a judge on March 20, prosecutors had laid out a stark account of what they say happened in the final moments before he left. Assistant Macomb County Prosecutor Jonathan Mycek told the court that Fuqua showed “no qualms” about shooting his significant other in the presence of the children. Mycek then described the detail that brought wider attention to the case, saying that as Fuqua left the house he gave the children candy and said, “Here y’all babies go.” Officers from Center Line and neighboring Warren later caught up with him near 10 Mile and Wainwright and arrested him, local outlets reported. Authorities have not publicly said whether Fuqua made any statements after his arrest or whether investigators recovered the gun at the scene, along his path or somewhere else. They also have not said whether anyone else was in the home when the argument or shooting began, leaving a thin public record around the moments that led to Sanders’ death.
The formal charge sheet added another layer to the case. In addition to second-degree murder, Fuqua was charged with possession of a firearm by a prohibited person, possession of ammunition by a prohibited person and three counts of felony firearm. Those counts indicate prosecutors believe he was legally barred from having a gun at all. A local television report from the arraignment said a judge noted Fuqua had a prior conviction for carrying a concealed weapon and was not supposed to possess a firearm. That detail matters because it may shape how prosecutors frame the shooting in later hearings, not just as a homicide but as a killing committed by someone who allegedly already knew he could not lawfully carry a gun. Even with those charges in place, officials still have not released a clear motive. No affidavit or public narrative has explained whether the shooting followed a domestic dispute, a planned confrontation or some other event inside the house.
The setting of the case also sharpened its emotional weight. Center Line is a compact city in southern Macomb County, and Sterling Street sits in a residential area where a police response is visible almost immediately to neighbors. Yet the most important witnesses in the public account were children, not adults standing outside or passersby in the street. Prosecutors said three minor children were in the home, and local reports said they were Sanders’ children. That circumstance often leaves investigators balancing urgency and caution, especially when the people who saw or heard the most are young and may need forensic interviews rather than immediate public questioning. Officials have not released the children’s names, and the court record made public in the first days of the case did not spell out how police reconstructed the exact sequence inside the kitchen. That gap is common early in homicide cases involving family members, but here it also meant that nearly all of the known story came from the prosecutor’s brief description in court rather than from a fuller police summary.
Fuqua was arraigned Friday in 37th District Court before Judge Suzanne Faunce, who ordered him held without bond. His probable cause conference is scheduled for April 1, and his preliminary examination is scheduled for April 8. Those hearings are the next public steps likely to add detail. At the probable cause conference, the court will address the status of the case and scheduling. At the preliminary examination, prosecutors would be expected to present enough evidence to show there is probable cause to move the case forward to circuit court. Defense attorney Mark Vrana urged the judge to keep the presumption of innocence in mind and said Fuqua is a Warren resident, works for Chrysler and supports an 11-year-old daughter. For now, though, the defense has not publicly answered the core allegation that Sanders was shot in front of her children. No plea or trial timetable had been announced by Monday, and prosecutors had not said whether additional charges could follow.
What is known about Sanders comes mostly through the shape of the loss described in court and by investigators. She was 38, killed inside her own home, with children nearby and officers arriving too late to save her. Macomb County Prosecutor Peter Lucido called the allegations abhorrent and said the killing had caused an immeasurable loss for Sanders’ children and family. The case also drew attention because of its contrast between ordinary domestic space and sudden violence: a kitchen in a neighborhood house, young children at home, and a brief, chilling allegation about candy handed out on the way to the door. At the same time, several points remain unresolved in the public record. Authorities have not said whether Fuqua lived with Sanders, how long they had been together, whether there had been prior protection orders or police contacts, or whether investigators found evidence of planning. Those answers may become clearer only if prosecutors present fuller testimony at the April hearings.
As of Monday, Fuqua remained in custody without bond, and the homicide case was still in its opening stage. The next milestone is the April 1 probable cause conference, followed by the April 8 preliminary examination, where prosecutors may provide the first fuller account of how Sanders was killed and what evidence they plan to use.
Author note: Last updated March 23, 2026.