October 12, 2026 | By: Ryan Luke

This story is part of a collaborative project between Project: Cold Case and the University of North Florida’s Applied Journalism class.

Audrianna Nobles was known by many different names—Tinkerbell, Boonkie, BlaccGul, Sister Mom and Jazzy Chick—and her friends and family loved their different monikers for her.

Even if people couldn’t agree on what to call her, everyone knew her best quality was her selflessness. She was always willing to put others’ needs ahead of her own even when she didn’t have much.

Audrianna, 31, was shot multiple times in Columbus, Georgia in the early morning hours of Oct. 14, 2020. Though attempts were made to revive her, they were unsuccessful and she succumbed to her injuries. Her family has now gone years without any justice surrounding the murder of Audrianna, no answers, no suspects or motives in the case.

Audrianna was a free spirit from the day she was born in Moultrie, Georgia. So much so, in fact, that when her mother, Paula Johnson, got to the hospital to deliver her, she was out within 30 minutes, even before the doctors got there.

“She came out fast and she never stopped,” Paula said. “Her fascination with different places, different people, and different cultures was astonishing.”

Growing up, Audrianna always had big aspirations and a strong belief in herself. One of her goals was to be a millionaire and go to Rodeo Drive in California to live like the stars. When her mom pushed back on how Audrianna would become a millionaire, she didn’t back down. “I asked her what she is going to do to get a million dollars, and she said I haven’t quite figured that out yet, Mama, but I know I am going to be a millionaire,” Paula said.

Her older brother, Anthony Smith, talked similarly about Audrianna’s desire to be a celebrity, saying she always had the biggest personality, and that the first time she got a taste of the spotlight was when they lived in Mississippi. One day the two siblings were outside on the front lawn rolling down a hill and playing with their German Shepherd, Sissy, when a news crew approached them. “They asked if we wanted to take pictures for the newspaper,” Anthony said. “We ended up making the front page, and we thought we were super famous, so we took the newspaper to school and showed it to everyone.”

In addition to Mississippi, the family lived in Washington, Connecticut, Georgia and Alabama, moving around as health issues and family circumstances changed. While she never made it to Hollywood, Audrianna was still a star to her family and friends because she continued to make them feel valued in any way that she could. This was a trait that shone through no matter where she was.

One time during a family get-together, Audrianna went to the gas station with her cousin, Rena Walker, in search of cigarettes but only had a $5 bill in her pocket to cover the cost of a pack. When they got there, Rena said that she wanted a soda but didn’t have any money with her. For Audrianna the answer was easy: instead of buying herself the cigarettes she desired, Audrianna decided it was more important to get her cousin the soda. “She was always very selfless,” Rena said. “She was the type of person, that if you needed a shirt and the only shirt, she had was on her back, she’d take it off and give it to you.”

Though she never had children, Audrianna was always willing to step in and make sure kids were in a safe environment. This constant theme led to one of the most impactful things that she ever did, which was saving a young boy’s life.

According to Rena, Audrianna had a friend in Georgia who had a couple of kids, one of whom was a little boy. The boy was mistreated and physically abused in front of Audrianna, and she could not take it any longer. As a result, Audrianna confronted the mom, saying she could care for the little boy. From then on, Audrianna and her mother raised the boy, giving him a better life and leading to his adoption into the family forever. His name is Sirr Romeo Johnson.

“She took that little boy out of an environment where he could have possibly wound-up dead from how he was getting treated and she took him as her own and provided for him,” Rena said. Audrianna’s mother added, “She could have left him in that situation, but that’s not who she was; she never had any kids, but she loved that one enough to save him.”

At times, as an adult, Audrianna struggled, having bouts with unemployment, substance use and being unhoused. “She was running with the wrong crowd, but when she got tired or needed to rest, the door was always open and she could always come home,” Paula said. “She was still the same loving, empathetic and free-spirited person through it all.”

On Oct. 14, 2020, just four days after her 31st birthday, Audrianna’s family received a phone call that seemed impossible. Audrianna had been walking down the sidewalk of Fern Street and Briarwood Avenue in Columbus just after 6:15 a.m. when neighbors heard four shots fired. According to the Muscogee County Coroner’s Office, Audrianna was found collapsed on the sidewalk and was pronounced dead at the scene at 6:47 a.m. Family members say that they have not heard any updates about the case in years.

Audrianna’s death was hard on the family, and left many wondering why someone would harm a person who was so willing to be a rock for other people and put them above herself. Her passing was especially difficult on her brother, Anthony, who said he had a dream months before the tragedy that something bad would happen to her.

Anthony said he told Audrianna about the dream and suggested she return to Washington, where he lives, for her safety. However, Audrianna felt comfortable in Columbus, and her decision to stay is something that still weighs on him to this day. “It throws me off because I knew this was going to happen, and I told her, but I couldn’t stop it,” Anthony said.

According to her mother, the last words that she heard from Audrianna a few days before her death were, “I love you Mommy, with your pretty self, pretty girl,” Paula said. It was the kind of sentence her daughter had told her many times.

In the years following Audrianna’s death, the family has focused on sharing the memory of her in different ways. Her cousin Rena says that she will forever have Audrianna’s smile ingrained in her brain. “I still see her smile, and I can see her cracking up the room,” Rena said. “Her heart was so big I don’t even know how it was in her chest.”

Anthony has made T-shirts for his children with pictures of Audrianna on them so that they can get to know their auntie even if she isn’t here anymore. He says that the biggest way he remembers her is through his own daughter Peyton, whose middle name is Audrianna in honor of his sister. He says that sometimes he will find himself in awe that his daughter shares a lot of the same antics, attitude and sassiness that Audrianna had.

“My mom just sits there staring at her and tears come out of her eyes, because she’s like dang, she’s exactly like your sister,” Anthony said. “Every time I see my daughter, it is exactly like my sister was when we were little; it’s like I didn’t even lose her because I see pieces of her every day.”

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Anyone with information concerning Audrianna Nobles’s unsolved homicide is asked to call the Columbus Police Department at (706) 225-4261. To remain anonymous and possibly be eligible for a reward, you can call the Columbus Crime Stoppers at (706) 653 3188.

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