The family of a Georgia mother is blaming a severe allergic reaction to fire ant bites for her recent death. On Saturday, Cathy Weed's family told WSB-TV that she stepped on an ant pile at her home in Lawrenceville shortly before her death. According to Weed's family, she had a severe allergy to fire ants and they believe the reaction was so strong that she died before she could get her medicine. An official cause of death is pending investigation by the medical examiner's office. Weed's community instantly gathered together to support her son, a 15-year-old sophomore on his high school baseball team. Many players on the team said Weed was a mother figure for them."The first inclination was, what can we do to help? They've done so much for other people, they've treated other people the right way, always, you know, what can we do to help them and to take care of them," Jason Johnson, Weed's son's baseball coach, told WSB-TV. "His mom was everything to him. And he was 100%, even more so to her."The community has already raised more than $9,000 for Weed's family through an online fundraiser.

COLUMBIA, S.C. —

A judge will determine whether evidence of disbarred South Carolina attorney Alex Murdaugh's alleged financial crimes is admissible in an upcoming double-murder trial that has drawn worldwide attention for its bizarre twists.

Prosecutors recently said that Murdaugh killed his wife and youngest son last year to gain sympathy and distract others from his damning financial crimes. On Friday, prosecutors and defense attorneys debated the relevance of those years of alleged financial misdeeds that lined Murdaugh’s pockets with nearly $9 million.

Murdaugh, the disgraced heir to a Lowcountry legal dynasty, has pleaded not guilty and repeatedly denied any involvement in the June 2021 slayings of his wife, Maggie, 52, and their son Paul, 22.

According to prosecutors, at the time of the killings, Murdaugh was terrified about a pending motion that threatened to expose years of substantial debts and illicit financial crimes by revealing his personal records. Such a move would have spelled “personal, legal, and financial ruin” for Murdaugh, state grand jury chief prosecutor Creighton Waters wrote in a filing Thursday.

Prosecutors said Murdaugh was a drug addict who helped run a money laundering and painkiller ring and stole millions from settlements he secured for mostly poor clients to fund an increasingly unsustainable lifestyle.

According to Waters, high-profile, six-figure cases had failed to alleviate Murdaugh's financial woes, prompting Murdaugh to do anything to avoid his “day of reckoning” — including murder.

Conveniently for Murdaugh, Waters said, the discovery of his slain family members temporarily suspended the increased scrutiny over his finances. Murdaugh would spend the following days collecting money to account for missing fees sought by his law firm, Waters said.

“This is a white-collar case that culminated in murders," Waters told Circuit Judge Clifton Newman on Friday.

A motive is not necessary for a prosecutor to win a murder conviction — a point Waters made in the state's latest filing. But Murdaugh's lawyers asked the state to spell out the motive in order to justify including a million pages of evidence related to over 80 counts of alleged financial crimes.

Murdaugh’s defense attorneys insisted Friday that the alleged crimes amounted to character evidence that is not admissible into murder trials.

Defense attorney Jim Griffin said it is ridiculous to claim that a person seeking to distract from financial crimes would then put themself at the center of a murder investigation.

Griffin also said there is no reason to admit the financial documents since there’s no evidence that Murdaugh’s family knew of any alleged crimes or that Murdaugh stood to benefit from collecting any life insurance policies.

The idea that Murdaugh sought to engender sympathy through the deaths is also illogical, according to Griffin, considering Murdaugh's father was dying on the day they were slain — an experience sure to provide plenty of pity.

The defense has criticized what they see as the slow release of evidence linking Murdaugh to the slayings.

Central to the defense's concerns is the presence of blood stains on a white T-shirt allegedly worn by Murdaugh on the night of the killings. Attorney Dick Harpootlian has argued that South Carolina Law Enforcement Division agents successfully persuaded a forensic consultant to reverse his initial judgment and instead say the stains must be backspatter from a bullet wound. Harpootlian said SLED destroyed the shirt and had evidence suggesting the stains were not a human's blood.

Defense attorneys on Friday sought an evidentiary hearing compelling the state to provide all communications with the consultant. Prosecutors said any ruling on the bloody shirt's consideration would be premature as they themselves are still assessing whether they will use it as evidence.

Throughout Friday’s hearing, Murdaugh, donning a blazer, sat unshackled and could occasionally be seen speaking with his attorneys.

Prosecutors shared inklings of new details earlier this week. Within a minute of his first conversation with responding officers on the day of the killings, Murdaugh allegedly claimed the slaying must have been connected to the February 2019 boat wreck that killed teenager Mallory Beach.

Beach was killed when authorities say an intoxicated Paul Murdaugh wrecked his father's boat — an event that ultimately led to dozens of charges accusing Alex Murdaugh of stealing nearly $5 million in settlement money from lawyers who sued him over the death. Murdaugh now faces additional charges involving money laundering, a narcotics ring, a staged attempt on his life and millions of additional stolen funds.

And while Murdaugh seemed wealthy, prosecutors said it was a series of land deals worsened by recession that “permanently changed his finances.”

The events of the past 18 months have marked a steep fall for the Murdaughs. The family founded a massive civil law firm over 100 years ago in tiny Hampton County, where — alongside four surrounding counties — Murdaugh’s father, grandfather and great-grandfather dominated the legal scene as the area’s elected prosecutors for more than eight decades.

“The jury will need to understand the distinction between who Alex Murdaugh appeared to be to the outside world — a successful lawyer and scion of the most prominent family in the region — and who he was in the real life only he fully knew — an allegedly crooked lawyer and drug user who borrowed and stole wherever he could to stay afloat and one step ahead of the detection,” Waters wrote Thursday.

COLUMBIA, S.C. — There's a growing problem of people returning to prison after they're released. To prevent that, correction facilities implemented many rehabilitation programs.

One program getting recognition across the country allows incarcerated mothers to create music for their newborns to help keep them connected to their child while staying on the right path once they are released.

The Lullaby Project, developed by Carnegie Hall’s Weill Music Institute, pairs new and expecting parents and caregivers with professional artists to write and sing personal lullabies for their babies.

According to the program’s website, this can aid in childhood development and strengthens the bond between the parents and child.

Scripps national correspondent Tomas Hoppough was allowed to interview two incarcerated woman at the Camille Griffin Graham correctional Institute in Columbia, South Carolina. He was not allowed to reveal their faces, their full names or why they were incarcerated.

However, he was able to show you what motivates them to get on the right path and stay out of prison.

“My name is Ashley, I’m a mother of five.”

“I’m Brittany, I am a mother of two.”

Brittany and Ashely are two of four participants in the University of South Carolina’s inaugural session of the Lullaby Project partnered with South Carolina Department of Corrections. The women work with USC School of Music cello professor Claire Bryant.

"We're there in a place that literally does not have hope,” Bryant said. “That is a humbling experience, and it reminds me to remember why we play music and what the power of music can look like."

While Bryant, Ashley and Britany practice music in the visiting room, there are posters hung on the walls with lyrics to music that they wrote, which is something they’ve never before.

“It gives me joy and happiness even for just a little bit of time,” Ashley said. “You can take your mind off of everything that’s going on.”

“Next year, I’m going to be doing something like buy a cello and pay for some music lessons to be able to play it,” Brittany said.

The songs they are practicing are songs Brittany and Ashley wrote, inspired by their children.

“I had my son eight months before I got incarcerated,” Ashley said. “Then, I had my daughter three months ago while I was incarcerated.”

“I got incarcerated when I was 18 weeks pregnant,” Brittany said. “I just had my daughter a month ago. My song I wrote is called ‘My little shining stars.’ It means I’ll always love them no matter where I go.”

“My song is called ‘Mama’s world,’” Ashely said. “The meaning behind it is to let my children know that we’re through this right now, but it’s not going to be forever. I just want them to know they are loved, and how much they mean to me.”

Department of Corrections Director Bryan Stirling said programs like these matter because he believes it truly helps people turn their lives around.

"Most of the folks incarcerated in this state will be out in under five years,” Stirling said. “We have the lowest recidivism rate, or return back to prison rate in the country, and I believe it's because of all the programs we have here. Currently, it's at 19.2%."

The national average recidivism rate is 82% in the first 10 years of release.

Bryant has taken the songs both Brittany and Ashley wrote to USC, where her students and some professional musicians brought them to life and recorded it to give their newborns something from their mother to get through this moment when they’re not around

"So, it's like something that they can have for the rest of their lives. These babies are going to be able to hear and not know what they're going to be hearing,” Bryant said. “Five years down the line, they'll still have this song to look back on it's sort of like a memory that will exist forever.”

“This song will say ‘Hey, we got through this, and I was able to do this for you,’” Ashley said. “Especially since we are in a dark place.”

"Regardless of how bad your life is, or what kind of situation you're in you still have that unconditional love for your kid,” Brittany said. “That's what my song is about."

Two teens who were born into difficult situations are making their mark on the world thanks to a generous mother.Brothers Dennis Parker and Gordon Burrell are graduating from New Town High School in Baltimore County, Maryland. Their mother, Cecelia McFadden, helped them get ready for the big day. She took them in as foster children — Parker when he was a week old and Burrell at the age of 2.A few years later, she adopted them both. They credit McFadden with pushing them, even when they acted out."You got on my butt every day. I don't know, she always told the right things to do," Parker said.Burrell faced the added challenge of having severe hearing loss. He was bullied and called names at school."She brought me in and made sure we had everything. Without her, there would be no graduation," Burrell said of his mom.McFadden has fostered 15 children, adopted three and has two biological children."You get them so young, you get attached to them, you don't want to take them back," said McFadden.Burrell said his life could have been very different without McFadden."My life probably would've been messed up. I probably would've been in the streets, selling drugs, a lot of other stuff. She's there. She was the protector, the caregiver," Burrell said."We are losing too many males in the streets," McFadden said. "I said, 'You already have two things going wrong for you right now: You're Black and you're male.' I said, 'You need that education.' I said, 'If you get that education, no one can take that away from you. As long as you can read and write and count, you're going to be OK, You can make it.'"Burrell is off to study music in college, while Parker plans to learn a trade.

A mother and veteran who served in Iraq and Afghanistan said she had to do something she never dreamed of.

While stuck in traffic on Interstate 10 in New Orleans, she said someone tried to get in her car.

So, her training kicked in and she pulled out a gun.

Charise Taylor said the incident happened while her 2-year-old son was in the car.

"You shouldn't have to navigate your own city like a war zone. It's un-American,” Taylor said. “The crime is out of control and it's terrifying. At this point, having to use the same tactics in an American city that you use in Iraq and Afghanistan simply to navigate through the city it's scary and I'm not the only mom feeling this way."

Taylor said she was headed to pick up her husband on Friday.

She said she was stuck in gridlock traffic when a group in a truck motioned to her to get over.

So, she let them. Next thing she knows a man comes up to her passenger door.

"So, as he comes up he's close and he's pretty aggressive trying to get the car door open makes eye contact with me he's still trying to get it open a couple times," Taylor said.

Taylor said she picked up her gun.

“It’s locked and loaded," she recalled saying.

Watch the video above for the full story.

OMAHA, Neb. —

Susan Inks believes the killing of Rodney Pettit, 41, at a bar in Omaha, Nebraska, should have never happened if prosecutors would have charged the same suspect in her son's death two years ago.

Omaha police said Pettit was assaulted before midnight Saturday and died Monday morning at Nebraska Medicine.

Over the weekend, police released photos of Parliament Pub patrons they wanted to question in Pettit's assault.

Inks saw the photos on social media and her heart dropped.

"I immediately, of course, recognized him and said, 'Yes, that's him,"' Inks said.
"I immediately emailed Omaha police and said, 'His name is Nolan King.'"

Inks knows King as the man who killed her son, Shane Inks, 31, in September 2019 at 33rd and Howard streets.

"He was stabbed over 17 times in the face neck and chest," she said.

Police never charged King, who was 19 at the time. Detectives said the stabbing was self-defense.

Inks said she's angry and took to social media posting how another person is dead and King is the suspect.

"It's pretty heartbreaking. It opens a lot of old wounds," she said.

Now Pettit's family and friends are feeling the same pain.

"We had a meeting and pulled the whole team together. There was not a dry eye in the house," David Dunn said. "They were talking about how willing he was he would do whatever it took to help them be successful and I think that sums him up."

From Oklahoma, Pettit's boss at Legend Driven Honda described how important Pettit was to the success of their car dealership during COVID-19.

Pettit moved to Lawton from Omaha two years ago to work as the general sales manager.

Dunn said he and Pettit, a father of four, with a 3-month-old, just had a nice conversation last week about finding his happiness.

"Great changes in his life, recently married, brand new baby...he felt like things were coming together, as well as they had for him and his life. It's so devastating," Dunn said.

Inks hope Pettit's family will get the justice she's been waiting for.

"He should have gone to jail when he killed my son and then his daughter would have a dad," Inks said.

Police booked King for first-degree assault with a weapon, but not a gun.

Those charges are expected to be upgraded. Police are not saying how Pettit died.

His friends said he was in town for a networking event.

SPRINGDALE, Ohio —

Springdale police asked for the public's help Tuesday. They're seeking leads in a two-year-old homicide.

Josue Lopez-Ramirez was a Guatemalan immigrant who police said came to the United States with his family for a better life.

His life came to an end when he was just 18 years old.

"When you stand there and see a mother who just watched her son be taken from her, you never forget that," said Springdale police Chief Tom Wells.

Wells was at this scene that night. It was the day before Thanksgiving, 2019.

Lopez-Ramirez had just picked up his mother from work and had returned to their apartment on Chesterdale Road.

"They pulled in to their parking stall in front of their apartment building, and before they were even able to get out of the car, a suspect car pulled in behind them, kind of blocking them in," said Springdale police officer Keenan Riordan.

A group of men got out of the car. Police said they first attempted to rob Lopez-Ramirez's mother and then him.

"And one of the suspect's shot him. He was shot one time, however, multiple shots were fired," Riordan said.

The suspects took off. Police collected evidence and followed several leads, but nothing has led investigators to the suspects.

Tuesday, police urged the public to help them get answers.

"Maybe the suspects spoke about the accident. Maybe they acted suspiciously," Riordan said. "Maybe they'll talk about it at Thanksgiving dinner. Maybe they talked about it at Thanksgiving dinner two years ago, and I'm hoping that will jar a memory or something like that now that the holidays are upon us again."

The hope is to bring closure to a family who is still suffering.

"It is our interest to see justice for people who are victimized in this community, and it's also our experience, people talk about crimes. They just do," Wells said.

Police said they don't know why Lopez-Ramirez and his mother were targeted. They said it was possibly a crime of opportunity. Another theory is that they were followed home.

The only description police have of the suspects is what Lopez-Ramirez's mother gave them. She said it was a group of either three or four black men wearing dark clothes and in a dark-colored car.

Anyone with information is asked to call Springdale police or Crimestoppers at 513-352-3040.

CINCINNATI —

Hundreds of children anxiously awaited their COVID-19 shots on Wednesday night.

At Cincinnati Children's Hospital, so many lined up at the Burnet Campus, doctors had to stop taking walk-ins.

WLWT talked with a Northern Kentucky mother and her 10-year-old daughter who waited in line for three hours.

The mother said her little girl was determined to get the shot before she left.

"The line was out the door, wrapped around by the cafeteria and we waited in line for three hours to get her first vaccine. So, it was quite the evening," Maria Borchardt said.

It was a very different mother-daughter night on the town.

Maria Borchardt and her daughter, Lilah Borchardt, 10, waited for hours at Cincinnati Children's Hospital for the 10-year-old's first Pfizer COVID-19 shot.

Children ages five to 11 are now eligible.

We asked Lilah Borchardt what she thought when she saw the long line.

"That's a lot of people. I guess they all want the vaccine as much as I do," Lilah Borchardt said.

Demand is high.

At Cincinnati Children's Hospital, officials said about 400 kids got the shot.

More than 200 were still waiting in line after 6 p.m. at the Burnet Campus, according to a spokesman.

They also stopped taking walk-ins.

"I teach fourth grade and she's, you know, in the fifth grade and we just don't want anybody in our house getting sick. We don't want to be responsible for anybody else getting sick. So, we just want to protect everybody that we love," Maria Borchardt said.

UC Health now has shots by appointment.

Walgreens will offer the vaccine starting Saturday.

CVS Health will start offering the shots on Sunday.

"We're in the process of getting all of the supplies and vaccine to our stores right now," CVS Health Regional Director Sarah Edington said.

The Borchardts saw the demand on Wednesday night.

"The staff at Children's was amazing. They were bringing bananas and waters and Teddy Grahams and color pages. The therapy dog was in there. It was just awesome to see the energy," Maria Borchardt said.

While not everyone is ready to get vaccinated, this fifth grader couldn't wait and has a sticker that reads "POW!" and "Superpower" to prove it.

"My arm hurts just a little bit but I feel relieved that I got the first COVID vaccine," Lilah Borchardt said.

Lilah Borchardt said she has been talking with her friends about her experience.

She said there is nothing to worry about if you don't like shots.

Lilah Borchardt said just keep talking and forget about it.

Cincinnati Children's Hospital said walk-ins are welcome, but appointments can also be made at three clinic locations.

Those locations are the Burnet or Liberty Campus or the Green Township Neighborhood location.

CNN —

A mother who delivered a baby girl while battling COVID-19 is honoring her intensive care unit nurse by naming her the child's godmother.

Monique Jones was 26 weeks pregnant with her second child when she was admitted to Barnes-Jewish Hospital in St. Louis, Missouri on Sept. 4. She was put in the ICU with severe COVID-19 symptoms.

"I wasn't feeling good," Jones told CNN. "I had shortness of breath and I had fever."

Two days later, the 28-year-old was intubated and placed on an extracorporeal membrane oxygenation machine. The ECMO machine, often called the "highest form of life support," uses a pump to circulate a patient's blood through an artificial lung. Jones said she was nervous and scared about the procedure.

ICU nurse Caitlyn Obrock took care of Jones while she was sedated. The nurse said she would whisper words of motivation to Jones on each shift to let her know she was going to make it through.

"With Monique being pregnant, she's only a year older than I am, I just felt, like, a strong connection with wanting her to do well," said Obrock. "She truthfully was a light to me. You know, we have to hold out hope."

Related video below: Nebraska woman gives birth to son while battling COVID-19

Jones said she could feel the positive energy around her as she fought her illness.

"When I was in my hospital bed, I felt some type of positivity around like a guardian angel," Jones told CNN.

When her condition worsened to the point that the medical team was not sure if Jones was going to make it without delivering the baby, they decided to deliver her via an emergency cesarean section, Obrock said.

On Sept. 23, Jones' daughter Zamyrah was born at 29 weeks, weighing only 2 pounds, 5 ounces, Jones said. After the birth, the baby was transferred to the St. Louis Children's Hospital, where she was placed in the neonatal ICU.

Jones remained at Barnes-Jewish Hospital and Obrock placed photographs of Zamyrah in Jones' room.

Her condition began to improve after the birth of her daughter, Obrock said. On Oct. 1, she was removed from the ECMO machine. Days later she was transferred to a rehabilitation facility, where she had to relearn to walk.

She first held Zamyrah on Oct. 20, nearly a month after giving birth.

While Jones was in rehab, Obrock organized a baby shower for the young mother with gifts for the newborn and $2,000 for Jones and her family.

Zamyrah arrived home from the hospital on Dec. 10 and continues to do well, said Jones.

The connection between Obrock and Jones has continued to grow. The two said they text daily. Jones decided to make Obrock a godmother for Zamyrah as a way to thank her for all her support.

"A godmother to me is like a support system," Jones said. "And I felt like she fought for me."

Jones says she is still recovering from her illness and has set up a GoFundMe to raise money for her medical expenses.

MOORHEAD, Minn. (Video: WDAY via CNN) —

For more than 30 days, Val Laidlaw wrote letters to her son while he was hospitalized with COVID-19.

Although she became a cheerleader for her son, the words she wrote have brought comfort to others.

Kyle Roos had gone to North Dakota State University to become a pharmacist, later worked and raised his family in the Twin Cities and was "a proud hockey dad of a girl," his mom said.

Because he had asthma, Roos was careful when the pandemic hit, but eventually tested positive and was hospitalized.

Laidlaw told WDAY she wrote her son a letter the first day of his battle.

"Dear Kyle, I know you are fighting. It is in your Viking blood. I remember you before your first breath. So still that for a moment, then you breathed in and let out a strong cry," her letter read. "You are a warrior, you are fighting a tough battle and you needed another weapon. Now you have it. We are all hopeful and praying for you, Kyle."

Every day, Laidlaw continued writing a letter to her son. She never missed a day.

"I just wanted him to know how proud I am of him and how happy and honored I am to have been his mom," Laidlaw said.

The hope was that Roos would recover and be able to come home and read the letters and share them with his daughters. But just hours before Christmas, his loved ones and friends said goodbye to him on a video call.

That's when Laidlaw wrote a letter no mom could imagine writing. The last one.

"You put up such a strong battle Kyle, I am so proud of you," she wrote.

MASON, Ohio —

Masks are now a big debate happening in school districts across Greater Cincinnati as the new school year quickly approaches.

Some parents in Mason, and even doctors, are pushing the district to require them.

A mother we talked with said mask-wearing is a collective effort.

She said that means everyone should be wearing masks in Mason City Schools this year.

"Everyone, K-12 in the building, should be wearing masks," parent, Joy Bennett, said.

That's the standard Bennett wants to see in Mason City Schools.

Two of her children will return to the classroom soon, but she fears COVID-19 could make it rough, especially for young students who can't get a shot.

"How do we reduce excessive and prolonged quarantines? How do we keep our kids healthy and able to attend? That's why I think that masking needs to be one of our layers," Bennett said.

The mask debate prompted 108 physicians who live in the Mason School District to pen a letter urging leaders to require masks for children and staff.

"There's a lot of things that we agree upon and that is the importance of safety for our kids. We agree that the masks help us with that and that's why we're strongly recommending that to all of our families," Mason City Schools Superintendent Jonathan Cooper said.

Cooper said they are following data and science and not requiring masks now.

"We are looking at how many cases do we have? Just like we did last year. We are looking at the transmission rates around here. How quick is it passing through our community?" Cooper said.

He also said distancing, barriers, handwashing and cleaning will continue.

On the flip side, some parents have started petitions to keep masks optional.

We found one for Forest Hills Schools.

Districts including Lakota Local Schools and Hamilton City Schools are not requiring masks, leaving it up to families.

Bennett said the schools have the power.

She wants to see them take action.

"It's really uncomfortable to have to wear something on your face, but I would just ask people to consider that we are a community," Bennett said.

Mason City School officials said more than 95 percent of its staff have been vaccinated.

The superintendent also said any changes are possible with compelling data.

School is set to start in the district next Thursday.

At a special public meeting on Wednesday at 5 p.m., Cincinnati Public School board members are also expected to discuss its policy on mask-wearing in the district.

MIDDLETOWN, Ohio —

The Middletown community is mourning the loss of an incoming freshman who died Monday at a local water park.

Mykiara Jones, 14, was about to enter her freshman year at Middletown High School. Teachers from the middle school described her as a "rare gem."

"She radiated joy every single day of her life," said Lori Barker, a science teacher at Middletown Middle School. "She kind of lived by the motto to always be your best self, and I think she inspired others around her to do the same."

Teachers said Mykiara was a leader and a role model inside the classroom and out.

"Her bubbly personality was infectious. She wanted to encourage everyone to be the best person they can be," said Mykiara's math teacher Jennifer King.

King said Mykiara excelled in math.

"We do MAP testing, and she actually had the highest score in the winter that I have ever had of a student, and when we took it in the spring, she just wanted to do better. She just pushed herself so hard and did an amazing job," King said.

Staff members at Middletown schools are wrapping their arms around Mykiara's family members, especially her mother, as she works in the district.

On Monday, Mykiara was at Land of Illusion Adventure Park in Madison Township. The Butler County Sheriff's Office said Mykiara was not wearing a life vest when she fell into the water. She was pulled out about 30 minutes later and was flown to Dayton Children's Hospital where she died.

While authorities suspect Mykiara drowned, the Montgomery County coroner has not yet ruled on a cause of death.

The park was closed Tuesday.

Land of Illusion said in a statement posted to its Facebook page that it's fully supporting state and local officials as they investigate the incident.

In the meantime, those who taught Mykiara wanted everyone to know how special she was.

"She didn't know a stranger. She was just very special," King said.

"She was the definition of Middie pride," Barker said.

Superintendent Marlon Styles sent a letter to parents Tuesday and informed them of Mykiara's death. Styles said the district's Student Services Department is working with Access Counseling to make grief counselors available to support students, staff and parents.

CINCINNATI —

Family members are pushing for justice and remembering the lives of a West End mother and her unborn baby girl.

They said the man who killed them was supposed to protect them.

Now, they want to make sure he pays.

They said they are glad there was a quick arrest in the case.

Beyond wanting to know why they were killed, they also want to make sure justice is served.

"It's hard to lose person, but to lose two and a baby," Michelle Sanchez said.

A heartbreaking reality has devastated Sanchez.

Her 31-year-old daughter, Michelle "Shelly" McDonald, is dead, as is her unborn baby granddaughter.

"I just feel so much pain that I just don't feel like it's going to ever going to end," Sanchez said.

Family gathered to remember them on Sunday.

They said Antonio Wilcox dated McDonald and was the baby's father.

Police said he shot them in West Price Hill on Friday killing them.

Loved ones told WLWT that McDonald's 4-year-old daughter witnessed the shooting.

Neighbors said Wilcox has threatened to kill McDonald before, but no charges could be found to reflect that.

"Just a horrible person that they can do something like that to a mother and child, and to his own child," McDonald's cousin, Dorothea Young, said.

Since 2004, Wilcox's criminal history shows convictions for obstructing official business, possessing cocaine, disorderly conduct and having weapons under disability.

A court document from 2009 shows Wilcox threatened his child's mother with a gun and then discharged it. A second document shows he fired a gun on the front porch of a home.

It also shows he was charged with domestic violence and endangering children, but those charges were dismissed in 2010.

In June, Hamilton County Prosecutor Joe Deters took issue with how county courts handle dangerous, repeat offenders.

"She can call a bond hearing in an hour and she can explain to the people of Hamilton County why this little punk is walking our streets," he said.

Deters said there will be no plea bargains on cases involving gun violence.

McDonald's family hopes that means justice is coming.

"Not only did we lose our cousin, but this young man, he's gone for the rest of his life. He ain't going to see the light of day. We're going to make sure of that," McDonald's cousin, Adrian Blasingame, said.

Wilcox should not have had a gun based on his history.

Deters talked with WLWT on Sunday and said McDonald's family does not have to worry. He said it is a tragic loss of life and they will deliver justice to their family.

The family has launched a GoFundMe account to help with expenses:

https://www.gofundme.com/f/in-loving-memory-of-michelle-mcdonald.