A 14-year-old Atlanta girl has been charged with felony murder in the death of a teen mother who was fatally stabbed while trying to defend her sister from bullies.
Alfonza Simmons said her 14-year-old daughter was being bullied in front of their home when her older sister, Ta’Lela Fontia Stevenson, 19, decided to step in and defend her, local station WSB reports. Simmons witnessed the terrifying moment her daughter was mortally wounded after she asked the three teens to leave the property. But police say instead of walking away, 14-year-old Jashaunte Marshall stabbed Stevenson in her neck and injured an 18-year-old male who was also on the scene. Stevenson then fled before the cops arrived.
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Second victim wounded
Police responded to attack and found the male victim, Gary Banks, 18, with a stab wound to his arm. He was treated at the local hospital for non-life-threatening injuries. Stevenson was also transported to the hospital, where she reportedly died Sunday night.
In addition to being a new mom, who had just given birth last month, Stevenson was accepted into an Atlanta Technical College nursing program.
Channel 2’s Kristen Holloway spoke to Stevenson’s mother, who explained how the three girls “lashed out” after being asked to stop bullying her 14-year-old daughter.
“They were all right here in front of my house,” Simmons said. “I’m, like, ‘Y’all need to move,’ but they just lashed out and my daughter was standing right here and the girl ran around and attacked my daughter.”
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The heartbroken mother described Stevenson as “a bright young lady looking to get ready to make a future for herself.” Simmons said of her daughter’s death, “It’s wrong and it’s cruel and it wasn’t worth it. It wasn’t.”
She also had this to say to her daughter’s killer: “You took Ta’Lela Fontia Stevenson’s life. You took my child from me for no reason. We don’t even know your name.”
The family has set up a GoFundMe account to help pay for funeral expenses. It has a $10,000 goal.
Marshall, meanwhile, is reportedly being held at Fulton County juvenile detention center.