DETROIT (WXYZ) — Monday afternoon, the aunt of Jamesha Kelley came to Detroit's Chandler Park to pay tribute to her, wearing her favorite colors, which were pink and black.
Kelley and her boyfriend were gunned down on May 8 outside of a Southfield hotel. Police said her ex-boyfriend, Kyle Bozeman III, waited for the victims in the parking lot and shot them with an assault-style rifle.
"We were all just devastated," Judy Kelley, Jamesha's aunt, told 7 Action News.
She said Jamesha Kelley, 41, was a mother of eight children and that Bozeman was the father of their two youngest children.
"She was (an) awesome, awesome mother," the elder Kelley described. "She loved her children dearly. She loved her family dearly. It's just a blessing that we had her as long as we did."
Judy Kelley said Bozeman, 49, and her niece had been together for at least a decade and the breakup occurred nearly two months prior to his cowardly actions on May 8.
"Sometimes, breakups can be hard, but I don't think it should come down to somebody being murdered," she said.
Now, Judy Kelley said her family is motivated to raise awareness about domestic violence. According to data from the Michigan State Police, in 2021, more than 70,500 people were victims of domestic violence; 83 people were killed.
"We definitely want to reach out to others and let them know you're not in this alone," Judy Kelley said.
"I reach out and give my condolence to all the young ladies previously and just recently, the one that just happened right after Jamesha," she said referring to the kidnapping and death of Patrice Wilson.
"I know we're going through it, but it's other people that's hurting that's been her clients for many years and we just want everybody to come and embrace each other, show love. I know that this is something that she would wanted," Kelley explained.
Police said the other victim in the May 8 shooting was critically injured.
On Monday, 7 Action News checked with Southfield police on his current condition. The deputy chief said the man is in stable condition and is expected to a make recovery.
