SPOTSYLVANIA COUNTY, Va. -- Heather was murdered, that is what Heather Ciccone's older sister Courtney said happened.
Captain Jeff Pearce with the Spotsylvania Sheriff's Office told CBS 6 that 21-year-old Heather Ciccone was shot and killed late Sunday night.
Ciccone, a waitress at a Red Robin in Fredericksburg, was found dead early Monday morning in the front seat of her car. The car was parked in a driveway on Piney Branch Road, about 30 minutes from her Spotsylvania home.
There was no known connection between the death and the home where the car was found.
Heather Ciccone (PHOTO: Ciccone family photo)
Ciccone's sister said Heather suffered from a single-gunshot wound. Law enforcement classified her injuries as a "severe trauma to the upper body."
The medical examiner's report Monday afternoon confirmed that it was a homicide by gunshot.
"There's no way this was a suicide," Courtney Ciccone, 24, said. "This is cold-blooded murder."
Courtney said she believed her younger sister was killed by another woman. She said the former Chancellor High School student had recently been getting death threats.
"Heather has had a girl who has been stalking her and threatening to kill her," Courtney said.
Law enforcement would not comment on a possible motive until cause and manner of death was established by the Medical Examiner.
Heather Ciccone (PHOTO: Ciccone family photo)
Courtney and her family have asked anyone with information about Heather's death to come forward and share that information with investigators.
"Help us find the person who did this," Courtney said. "They took someone from us."
Anyone with information was asked to call Spotsylvania Crime Stoppers at 540-582-5822.
Courtney said she would remember her little sister as a great aunt to her niece and nephews.
"She had such a good, bubbly personality and smile," Courtney recalled. "She was the sweetest most caring person you'd meet."
Ciccone family (PHOTO: Ciccone family photo)
Anyone with additional information about this death can submit a news tip here.
