'I Just Want To Know Why:' Family Of Ericka Stevens Gather For Vigil, Remember Her Life
MCKEESPORT (KDKA) - Family members say Ericka Stevens was an amazing mom of three and full of love to give.
That heartbroken family came together on Saturday evening, trying to pick up the pieces after she was found dead in a car outside of a McKeesport bar early on Thursday.
"Why would you take someone away from their children? I just want to know why," said
A vigil was held for the 29-year-old, attended by family and friends, all asking the same questions and sharing the same grief.
"It's definitely a new life, and not in a good way," said Jazmen Hill, Ericka's sister. "Like I said, she is my best friend, she's my older sister."
Early on Thursday morning, police found Stevens shot and killed inside of a car, parked in a lot across the street from the McKeesport Beer Barrel.
Through surveillance footage and a witness interview, police have issued an arrest warrant for 33-year-old Gabrielle Parker.
Police say, Parker, Stevens, and several others were involved in a fight earlier that night at the bar.
The criminal complaint alleges that bar surveillance footage shows Parker smashing a beer bottle over Stevens' head. Minutes later, Parker allegedly shot Stevens outside the bar along Fifth Avenue.
"Just to know that she was out here, with no one, is very hard," said Chiffon Cabbagestalk, Ericka's cousin.
Now, Stevens' family is remembering her as the caring mother of three young children who never forgot to say, "I love you."
"She lit up the room, and like I said, this is just hard," said Shalisha Cabbagestalk, another cousin of Ericka's. "We never in a million years thought that we would have to do this."
Parker is facing charges of criminal homicide, criminal conspiracy, and carrying a firearm without a license.