Virginia Beach police identify slain woman

VIRGINIA BEACH

Although they weren't related by blood, Shana R. Hight and Jessica Bratcher were once like sisters.

As teenagers, both worked at the same McDonald's in Springfield, Mo. On homecoming night, the two wore Converse sneakers with their dresses.

Bratcher said Tuesday she was shocked to hear that Hight, 24, was being called a homicide victim in Virginia Beach. Hight was found dead in her apartment in the 1400 block of Bayhead Drive on Monday. Beach police responded to a call about 11:40 a.m. and found her body. Later they said the case was being treated as a homicide.

Officials said Hight's body was sent to the medical examiner's office to determine the cause of death. Police spokesman Jimmy Barnes said Hight's husband was in the military and was not in the area.

Neighbors described Hight as courteous.

When Robert Sadler moved into his nearby apartment in July, he said, he knocked on Hight's door to ask whether her husband could help him move his couch. She told him that her husband was deployed.

Sadler also said he would sometimes see Hight walking her dog. She would always speak to him, he recalled. "She seemed pretty cheerful," Sadler said. "She was always sweet."

Neighbor Jessica Ortiz also lives in the same building as Hight. She said she would see Hight walk her Lab every morning. Ortiz said Hight would play with the dog in a grassy area.

"She would say, 'Good morning,' " Ortiz said. "She seemed pretty happy."

Hight also loved astrology and took classes at Ozarks Technical Community College in Missouri, said Bratcher, who now lives in Kansas.

"She liked things that were difficult to understand," Bratcher said. "That's who she was."

Hight was originally from Republic, Mo., and had a younger sister, Bratcher said. She had been married for about two years, Bratcher said.

"There's so much that went into her, and I'm going to miss the times that we didn't have and the things we could've done," Bratcher said. "It just seemed wrong; she was really young."

Anyone with information about the case is asked to call Crime Line at 1-888-LOCK-U-UP (562-5887).

Jennifer Jiggetts, (757) 222-5150, jennifer.jiggetts@pilotonline.com