SAN DIEGO, CA — A 21-year-old Phoenix man is in custody after allegedly shooting and killing his pregnant 17-year-old girlfriend early Saturday morning in San Diego's Bay Park neighborhood.
San Diego police say they responded to multiple 911 calls reporting a shooting in the Bay Park neighborhood just after 1 a.m.
Officers found the 17-year-old victim unresponsive with a gunshot wound to the head.
According to police, the victim was approximately 32 weeks pregnant. Officers immediately began life-saving measures for both the victim and her unborn child. Paramedics transported her to a local hospital, where doctors performed an emergency cesarean section. Despite life-saving efforts, the mother died at the hospital.
San Diego police told ABC15 a week later that Edwards' baby, who was in critical condition for nearly a week, had also since died.
Do you have a concern in your community or a news tip? We want to hear from you!
Connect with us: share@abc15.com
Police say the victim and several family members had traveled to San Diego from Phoenix and were staying in a short-term vacation rental in the area. The suspect, identified as 21-year-old Trevon Williams, also from Phoenix, had traveled to San Diego separately and met the victim outside the rental, where he shot her.
After the shooting, Williams fled on foot to a nearby canyon. Around 3 a.m., officers located him hiding and took him into custody without incident. A semi-automatic handgun was recovered at the time of his arrest.
The investigation is ongoing, and Williams will be booked into San Diego County Jail on a murder charge.
Police originally said Williams was 19, but later clarified that he is 21 years old.
Police have not identified the teen victim, but the family told us her name was Jariah Edwards. They have given us permission to share a fundraiser that was created for funeral expenses.
Online records show Williams was booked in on multiple charges, including first-degree murder.
Friends of Jariah described her as someone who always made people feel seen, funny and had always wanted to be a mom.
"God, it's just sad. Like she didn't deserve this. And I don't know. Nobody should experience this at such a young age,” said Jamila Corley, a friend of Jariah’s.
Jamila, Amara, and Samaya Corley met Jariah just a few years ago, but they said they felt like they’d known her for a long time.
The three told ABC15 she was leaving her boyfriend.
“He was literally a monster, and he ran into somebody with a pure soul. Like there's nothing she could have did that made him act like this,” Jamila said.
"This is like the last person on Earth that you would expect this to happen to. Like, she did not deserve this at all,” Amara added.
Want more news in your community? Add ABC15 as as a preferred source on Google below:
