A 23-year-old nonverbal woman with autism died alone in her caregiver’s home in what prosecutors are now calling a cold-blooded murder — and the suspect allegedly revealed the crime only after crashing her car in an apparent suicide attempt.
Aaliyah Fortner never had the words to ask for help. That silence, her brother now says, may have cost her everything.
On October 26, 2025, Gastonia police in North Carolina responded to a crash between a semi-truck and a vehicle driven by Marlo Wallace, 59 — the woman trusted to care for Fortner. At the hospital, Wallace told officers something that stopped them cold: “They would find a deceased person” at her home.
Investigators rushed to the residence on Green Brook Trail in Dallas, North Carolina. Inside, they found Fortner’s body. She was 23 years old.
What came next was even more disturbing. A probable cause affidavit revealed that Wallace had allegedly assaulted Fortner on multiple occasions — striking her with objects, pushing her to the ground, deploying a Taser on her, kicking her, and stomping on her head. Because Fortner was nonverbal, she had no way to report the abuse or cry out for help.
“For her to be alone through all of that and then for it to end the way it did, I hate to even think what was going on in her mind.” — Caleb Simpson, Aaliyah’s brother
After autopsy results came back, prosecutors upgraded the charges. Wallace now faces first-degree murder, with authorities concluding she killed Fortner with “malice aforethought.” A second caregiver at the home, Vera Williams, has also been charged with patient abuse, neglect, and felony assault of an individual with disabilities.
Perhaps most chilling: records show that authorities had revoked Wallace’s guardianship of another nonverbal adult at the same home roughly two years before Fortner was placed there. Caleb Simpson says the system failed his sister at every turn.
“Watch who you trust. Everybody should be angry about something like this. You trust the state, and then they just fail you like that.” — Caleb Simpson
What Happens Next: Wallace remains held at Gaston County Jail with no bond. Her next court appearance is scheduled for June 19. Ridley’s case is separate — but for Aaliyah’s family, no court date will bring back the sister who spent her final days unable to tell a single person what was being done to her.
Aaliyah Fortner deserved protection. She deserved a voice. The system that was supposed to provide both failed her completely — and her family wants the world to know it.
