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Family, friends gather in vigil for Delaware County woman murdered
Family and friends gathered in memory of Tanyiah Bell, 19, on Saturday for a vigil and balloon release at Academy Park High School in Sharon Hill. Police say she was shot and killed in an apartment she shared with her boyfriend, who is charged with her murder.
SHARON HILL, Pa. - Family and friends gathered in memory of Tanyiah Bell, 19, on Saturday for a vigil and balloon release at Academy Park High School in Sharon Hill.
Through tears, her mother, Tylicia Bell, shared Tanyiah was her only child and they were both anticipating the birth of Tanyaih’s first child on Christmas Day like a gift.
"Her baby shower was in two weeks, November 30, which is the day of the funeral. We had everything ready. I want to know why my daughter was murdered? Why did she have to go out like that," said Tylicia. "She was eight months pregnant, about to deliver her baby and now the baby is fighting for her life in the ICU, the NICU. I go up there every day by her bedside."
Lansdowne Police said Tanyiah was fatally shot on November 14 in her apartment on North Wycombe Avenue. Her boyfriend, Kaiheem Williams, 19, was arrested and faces multiple charges including first-degree murder.
According to court papers, Williams told investigators he blacked out and his next memory was calling 911 from Tanyiah’s phone because she was shot. Police said doctors performed emergency surgery to deliver Tanyiah’s baby, who remains in critical condition at CHOP.
Teen charged with murder of pregnant girlfriend in Delaware County; baby remains critical: officials
Kaiheem Jerelle Williams, 19, was arrested and charged with First-Degree Murder in the death of his pregnant girlfriend who was shot to death in Delaware County last Thursday.
Tylicia is a nurse, and said Tanyiah wanted to follow in her footsteps and become a NICU nurse. She believes her daughter remains at her baby’s side in spirit.
"I named her after her mother, so her name is Tanyiah Miracle because I feel like she’s going to be our miracle," said Tylicia. "She wanted to be a NICU nurse and I just know my daughter is at the bedside praying for her baby that she makes it."
Her mother said Tanyiah graduated from Academy Park this past year and was attending Delaware Community College.
Her high school cheer team performed a routine in her memory and said she was nicknamed Tweety.
"She was quiet, but she also had a bright personality, and we also said she looked like Tweety Bird and she loved it. I’m telling you all she loved it," said Sameeya Andrews, a friend and cheer teammate. "I just wish we could all say our last words to her and cheer with her one more time, and just be with her because she was a great spirit and the sweetest person ever."
Her grandfather, Leon Miller, said he was elated to become a great-grandfather.
"They called her my second wife, that’s how much she meant to me," said Miller. "She was well-loved through the family. Whatever she wanted, we got her for. She called me no problems, called her grandmother, no problem. She was that kind of girl, she was sweet."
Tanyiah’s Life Celebration will be held on Saturday, November 30, at Serenity Chapel in Darby, starting with the viewing at 9 a.m.