Name released of 39-year-old woman found shot to death in Lexington

A 39-year-old woman was found dead of multiple gunshot wounds on Tates Creek Road near the Jessamine County line, according to police and the coroner’s office.

Rachel Preston was the city’s 28th homicide, according to the Fayette County coroner’s office and police. Preston’s body was found late Tuesday night.

Her death might have been narcotics-related, police said.

Anyone with information about the case is asked to call Lexington police at 859-258-3600.

Brandy Lyn Collins, who said she was Rachel Preston’s sister, asked in a Facebook post for anyone who knew of her sister’s whereabouts between 7 and 9 p.m. Tuesday to call Lexington police. Preston was shot in the head and chest, Collins said. A GoFundMe page was started Wednesday to raise money for Preston’s burial.

Preston’s body was spotted about 9 p.m. Tuesday by someone driving by the 5900 block of Tates Creek at McDowell Road, according to police.

The death is Lexington’s 28th homicide in a record-setting year. One of the city’s earlier homicides was reclassified as “justifiable” based on additional evidence, or Preston’s death would have been the 29th, police said. The city’s previous homicide record was 27 in 1999 and 2001.

Preston is the first homicide victim in Lexington since Oct. 26, according to police.

This story was originally published December 27, 2017 at 8:17 AM with the headline "Name released of 39-year-old woman found shot to death in Lexington."