"SIXTEEN CANDLES"

"TELLING MY DAUGHTER"

Telling my daughter that her baby brother was murdered was one of the hardest things to do, all three of my children were close. And Eli was very protective of his big sister, they all had undeniable love for one another.
As me and my girlfriend Angelique drove to where she was residing with her boyfriend in Inglewood, I was overwhelmed with what felt like a deeper unexplainable feeling of grief and pain. I didn't know how to deal with it, but in silence I knew that I had to somehow pull it together. I had to be strong for my children, and so I prayed to GOD please give me the strength to survive this tragedy and the strength to pull my children through these trying days, weeks, months and years to come.
Parking the car and walking to her front door felt like slow motion. Once inside I became dumbfounded for a split second, and then came those words nobody wants to hear. They found your brother, he's um he is dead. The screams and pain from my daughter hurted my soul, after I told her what happened. All I could hear was why? Why did they do that to him. I don't know was all I could say, I don't know. I hugged her but could not find any words to stop her pain or to explain why?