KANSAS CITY, Mo. – August 23rd is a day that will haunt one neighborhood, a family, a group of friends, and the Kansas City community. It’s the day a young mother and her then three-year-old daughter were found shot to death in their home.
Wednesday, the young victim, Damiah White would have celebrated her fourth birthday, instead it was only her memory that was celebrated.
Rosilyn Temple with Mothers in Charge, and other mothers who have lost children to violent crime stand at this intersection asking people to remember Damiah White who would have turned four on Wednesday. This celebration for Damiah looked like a young girl’s birthday party from far away: Pink balloons, flowers, stuffed animals, but a closer look shows tears and a harsh reality- Damiah’s not here.
“I just feel like one day we’re going to wake up and we’re gonna see her again,” said her cousin, Kiki.
“We don’t sleep. All we think about is her. All we see is her,” said Damiah’s cousin, Q.D.
Instead of wearing her Hello Kitty outfit reserved for the day, Damiah is remembered in pictures and by the detective who’s trying to solve her murder.
“This baby girl had to look in the face that she probably knew. Imagine the fear that she felt. And you’re not willing to stand up for her? What does that say about us?”
Damiah’s killer is still out there. Investigators want to know who took her young life, so does her family.
“We want answers,” said great uncle, Kevin Turner. “People need to speak up and come forward.”
Her family said Damiah would have spoken up. She was known for speaking her mind. So they remember the outgoing girl who loved pink under the pink shelter painted in her memory, by giving Damiah a birthday party with singing, pink balloons, and a lot of love.
If you have information in the deaths of Damiah White and her mom, Myeisha Turner, call the TIPS Hotline at 474-TIPS. You can remain anonymous.