LEAVENWORTH, Kan. — A mother is heartbroken and anxious for answers in the days since her five-year-old daughter was killed in the midst of an alleged abduction and a shootout with police.
Confident and carefree, five-year-old Cadence Harris, known to her family as Cady, was just an innocent child. She was a daughter, a younger sister, a niece and a cousin.
But on Friday, Cady was caught in the crossfire of what her mother Christy Harris calls an “abusive relationship.”
“I never thought he would’ve took it out on her, but I guess he knew he was about to go down and that was one last way of hurting me,” Christy told FOX 4.
Police have yet to charge the suspect in the case, so FOX 4 is not naming him. However, Harris describes him as her on-again-off-again boyfriend who was a father figure to Cady.
“She called him ‘dad’,” Christy said. “She loved him.”
But their father-daughter relationship turned deadly following an argument with Christy.
“He pulled a gun on me,” she said. “He was high on meth. He wasn’t thinking clearly and he’s psychotic to begin with.”
Christy said he always abused her.
“I’m pretty sure the reason he took her was just another way to abuse me,” she said.
“We just want to know how could you take a baby?” asked Cady’s aunt, Alice Jones, through tearful sobs. “She was beautiful. She had everything in this world at her fingertips.”
As Cady’s family waits for answers, they find comfort in the good memories.
“She just started riding her bike without training wheels,” Harris said. “She loved to sing. She loved to dance.”
All they have now are memories of who little Cady was and dreams of who she would one day become.
“She could’ve been so much,” Harris said. “We all need her. We needed her. I needed her.”
Police are awaiting an autopsy before releasing Cady’s cause of death. Police are also interested in hearing from witnesses. Anyone with information is asked to call 1.800.KS.CRIME.
In the meantime, Cady’s family is trying to raise enough money to cover the girl’s funeral costs. If you want to donate, click this link.
The family has also set up a Facebook page for Cady: Facebook.com/CadenceJustineHarris