Authorities said Aaliyah Fortner, 23, was found dead after months of abuse and severe weight loss.
DALLAS, NC — A Gaston County woman has been charged with first-degree murder in the October 2025 death of Aaliyah Fortner, a 23-year-old nonverbal woman with autism who lived in a Dallas home for people with special needs.
Marlo Wallace, 59, was charged Thursday in a case that began after a crash on Interstate 85 led investigators to a home on Greenbrook Trail. Police said Fortner had been living under Wallace’s care when officers found her dead. The murder charge raises the case from earlier abuse and neglect counts to a homicide prosecution, with the Gaston County District Attorney’s Office now alleging that Fortner’s death followed violent abuse and severe neglect.
The case unfolded Oct. 26, 2025, when officers responded to a crash on I-85 near Exit 21 involving Wallace and a semi-truck. Wallace was taken to a hospital after the wreck. While there, investigators said, she told police they would find a dead body at her house in Dallas. Officers went to the address and found Fortner’s body inside. Gaston County District Attorney Travis Page later told a judge that evidence showed Fortner had been shocked with a Taser and beaten with a broom. Page said “some of the abuse was captured on video” and that Wallace tried to delete it.
Investigators said Fortner was in the care of Wallace and Vera Williams at the time of her death. Wallace had earlier been charged with concealment of death from unnatural causes, patient abuse and neglect, and felony assault of an individual with disabilities. Williams was charged with patient abuse and neglect and assault on an individual with disabilities. Officials have not said publicly whether Williams faces any homicide charge. Authorities also have not released a full account of how many people lived in the home, how long Fortner had been there or who was legally responsible for overseeing her care.
Medical examiner records reported in the case showed Fortner weighed 84 pounds at the time of her death and had lost about 60 pounds over six months. The records also described blunt force injuries across her body. Fortner’s disabilities made her dependent on caregivers, and relatives have said they had raised concerns before her death. Earlier reporting in the case found that courts had acted two years before Fortner died to protect another nonverbal adult who had lived in Wallace’s home. Officials have not fully explained what agencies knew before Fortner’s death or whether any prior reports were reviewed after the homicide investigation began.
The first-degree murder charge moves Wallace’s case into a more serious stage in Gaston County court. Prosecutors must now present the case through the criminal court process, where Wallace will be entitled to hearings and the chance to enter a plea if she has not already done so. Police have said the investigation remains tied to evidence from the home, medical examiner findings, witness accounts and digital records. No trial date has been announced. It was not immediately clear from public reports whether Wallace had an attorney who could comment on the murder charge.
The home on Greenbrook Trail sits in Dallas, a Gaston County town northwest of Charlotte. The case has drawn attention because Fortner was nonverbal and relied on others for daily care. Local reports described the home as a place where people with special needs lived under Wallace’s operation. After Fortner’s body was found, police began reviewing the conditions inside the home and the actions of the adults responsible for her. Family members and advocates have questioned why earlier warning signs did not stop Fortner’s death, but officials have not released a complete timeline of prior complaints or agency contacts.
The case now stands as a murder prosecution against Wallace, with earlier abuse and neglect charges still part of the public record. Investigators have not announced additional arrests since the murder charge was filed Thursday. The next milestone will be Wallace’s continued court proceedings in Gaston County, where prosecutors are expected to outline more of the evidence behind the homicide charge.
Author note: Last updated June 9, 2026.