Sasha Bell, a 19-year-old Michigan mother who was the first to file a suit on behalf of the children in Flint, Michigan, over the contaminated water in that city, was found shot dead on Tuesday night, according to authorities.
Another woman, Sacorya Reed, was also found dead in the home where Bell was discovered. An infant was also discovered in the home uninjured, though it is not known at this point if this was Bell’s son.
Police have not yet made any arrests nor do they have a motive in connection with Bell’s death.
Despite Bell’s death, the lawsuit she filed will likely still move forward. “It’s really her son’s case,” said her lawyer, Corey Stern, on Friday.
The suit was filed because, Bell stated, her 16-month-old son had suffered damage because of “corporate and government misconduct.”
“She just wanted what was best for her son,” Stern said.
Stern, who is representing over 1,000 cases for children in Flint, said that the cases are being represented individually, and not as a class action lawsuit. He has also been spending time in Flint observing the situation there.
“There’s not a lot of foot traffic, the restaurants are empty,” he said of the city. “It’s a community that’s suffered from some serious trauma. I’ve met thousands of people in three months going back and forth, and they are resilient.”
“Communities get torn apart or come together, and I think they have come together.”