Tamika Stallworth shot and killed her 10-month-old great-niece on Christmas Eve and has now been charged with her murder.
According to the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office, Stallworth began shooting at an occupied vehicle and accidentally hit baby Jamaya Austin in the face while attempting to shoot the driver for reasons that were not specified.
After the shooting, Jamaya was taken to a local hospital in Alabama. She was transferred to another hospital but later died.
“A life, a precious life was lost in a very needless way,” Charlie Stallworth, Jamaya’s uncle, told Fox 59 News. “Just an adorable baby. It’s just so unfortunate. Difficult to understand and to put our minds around.”
YOU MAY ALSO LIKE: Susan Smith, Who Murdered Her Two Children in 1994, Cries Every Christmas Over Their Deaths
Tamika Stallworth shot and killed her great-niece, Jamaya Austin, on Christmas Eve, 2019. Below is a photo of Jamaya.
“I hate it happened. I’m a father here and I reiterate that fact. I just can’t imagine losing a child in that manner you know,” Marcus Thompson, a relative of both the victim and suspect told WKRG.
“Most of us up here are related some sort of way. It’s a tight-knit community. We’re all just family,” Thompson continued. “It’s been like that many, many years. This is devastating. This is a set back not only to that family personally, but to all of us.”
YOU MAY ALSO LIKE: Premature Baby Who Weighed Just 24 Ounces at Birth Goes Home at 17 Months Old, Just in Time for Christmas
Stallworth was arrested that night and then charged with murdering the young girl two days later. She is currently being held on a $750,00 bond.
The family is at a loss as to what prompted Stallworth to
begin shooting at the car in the first place.
“I’ve never known Tamika to have a single violent bone in
her body,” Stallworth continued telling Fox 59 News. “She is always kind and
compassionate, which makes the ordeal hard to grasp.”
When I’m not hanging out with my three-year-old and husband in Brooklyn, I’m busy writing stories for Mamas Uncut and managing PR + Marketing for Magnolia Bakery, based in New York City. On weekends, you can usually find me at a local park or playground pushing my daughter on the swings, “researching” the best almond croissants in Park Slope or launching into impromptu family dance parties at home, the sidewalk or, every once in awhile, a restaurant bathroom. I’m still trying to master the whole parenting thing, but I have learned that copious amounts of coffee, humor and humility are involved on a daily basis.