A former U.S. Army sergeant is facing a murder charge after his active-duty soldier wife was found shot to death at a Georgia apartment complex following what police described as a domestic incident.
Tahj Javean Hemphill, 23, was arrested June 30 and charged with murder in the death of 23-year-old Denise Williams, an active-duty soldier assigned to the 3rd Infantry Division at Fort Stewart.
Chatham County police responded to the Fords Pointe Apartments and Townhomes near Savannah Tuesday evening. Police Chief Jeff Hadley said officers were responding to a domestic incident and found a woman dead from what appeared to be a gunshot wound, according to local reporting.
Hemphill was still at the scene when officers arrived and was taken into custody. He reportedly told police that he and Williams were married. Local news outlet WTOC reported that Hemphill was also the person who called 911.
Court records reviewed by The Salty Soldier show Hemphill appeared before a judge following his arrest and remains charged with murder.
A bond order signed July 1 states Hemphill may only be granted bond by a Superior Court judge. The order does not contain a narrative describing the shooting or the evidence authorities say supports the murder charge.
The publicly available court records also do not identify a motive or explain what investigators believe happened in the moments leading to Williams’ death.
Hemphill grew up in Fort Pierce before joining the Army
Hemphill grew up in Fort Pierce, Florida, where public records and contemporaneous local reporting place him during his teenage years.
A 2016 Treasure Coast Newspapers photo caption identified a then-14-year-old Tahj Hemphill as being from Fort Pierce while participating in Waterfest at Jaycee Park. The public event allowed local youth and other participants to try kayaking, sailing and stand-up paddleboarding.
A 2019 family obituary also listed Tahj Hemphill as being of Fort Pierce. St. Lucie County court records reviewed by The Salty Soldier separately place Tahj Javean Hemphill in Fort Pierce in 2020 through two minor traffic cases involving the Fort Pierce Police Department.
Hemphill joined the Regular Army in November 2021 and served as a motor transport operator, according to military service information provided by Army officials to local media. He eventually reached the rank of sergeant before leaving the Army in March 2025.
Army video showed Hemphill serving in Poland
In November 2023, Hemphill appeared in an official Army holiday video recorded in Karliki, Poland, while serving as a specialist assigned to the 3rd Division Sustainment Brigade.
The video, produced by the Army and published through the Defense Visual Information Distribution Service, featured soldiers assigned to the brigade’s Task Force Provider sending holiday messages to family and friends back home.
The Army identified Hemphill as a Florida native.
In his brief message, Hemphill wished his family back home in Florida a happy holiday.
The Army’s description of the video said the 3rd Division Sustainment Brigade was deployed as part of a rotational force providing command, control and support to units involved in multinational training and operations across more than 13 European countries.
Army service information provided to WTOC said Hemphill had no deployments. The Army’s own archived description of the 2023 European rotation, however, characterized the brigade as deployed to Europe as part of a rotation of forces.
Williams was serving with the 3rd Infantry Division at Fort Stewart at the time of her death.
Police have not publicly released a detailed account of what investigators believe occurred inside the couple’s residence before the fatal shooting.
According to WTOC, neighbors reported seeing a large police response at the apartment complex. One neighbor told the station they heard a single gunshot.
The couple’s dog was later taken into county custody, according to a notice reportedly left on the apartment door.
Hemphill is charged with murder under Georgia law. His case remains open, and a felony court hearing is scheduled for later this month.
The investigation into Williams’ death remains ongoing.
Hemphill has not been convicted, and the murder charge against him remains pending.
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