A young mum has been shot dead in front of her two-year-old son as she picked him up from day care. Beverly Lambert, 25, was killed after being shot in the head twice by a teenager in the American state of Illinois on 4 August.
Grundy County State Attorney say that the mum was picking up her son Jace in Morris city when Cortez Rice is alleged to have asked Beverly for a lift before shooting her and stealing the car.
Police traced the car and Cortez three hours later and he was arrested while trying to flee on foot. He is charged with first-degree murder and has been remanded in custody.
According to the Mirror, Cortez had been asking others for lifts earlier in the day - but the authorities believe he was unknown to the victim. Beverly had graduated from Tennessee State University in 2019 with a degree in supply chain management.
Her close friend Myriah Weatherspoon launched a fundraiser to help raise money for her son and pay for her funeral expenses.
She wrote: "We are raising money to help the family of Beverly Lambert who was taken from us too soon. Beverly Lambert was tragically shot & killed on August 4th.
"Beverly was a loving mother to Jace, as well as a friend and sister. Donations will be used to help the family pay for funeral expenses.
"Anything raised in excess of $10,000 (£8,250) will be placed into an account to be withdrawn from by Jace's godmothers (Shaponi Nalls and Myriah Weatherspoon) and payable to Jace's caretaker. Jace's Godmother (Shaponi Nalls) will receive the funds and wire the funds to Beverly's family for funeral expenses.
"Shaponi Nalls and Myriah Weatherspoon will open a bank account on Jace's behalf to hold funds in excess of $10,000 (£8,250)." At the time of writing, it had raised £19,000 out of a target goal of £20,000.
The victim's cousin Jeanette Butler described Beverly on social media as "an Earth angel". She wrote: "I use [sic] to call her God's favourite because I witnessed her overcome so many trials & tribulations that most people couldn't even fathom in this lifetime."
Cortez is being held on a USD-5-million bond and has a court hearing set for August 18.
Don't miss the latest news from around Scotland and beyond - Sign up to our daily newsletter here .
