Under gray skies and spotty rain, family and friends of Karli Short gathered Thursday to ask — plead — for justice in the killing of the young mother-to-be.
“She was my only niece in the world. A senseless act took her from us,” said Karri Petty, Short’s aunt. “If you know something, say something. Please, please — just please, just say something.”
Short, 26, graduated in 2014 from McKeesport High School. She loved cooking, she was excited to be having a baby boy, and she would go “all out just to make people smile,” said Troy Blackwell, cousin to Short’s father. Her confidence meant she owned any room she walked into, he said.
Those who loved her gathered at Renziehausen Park, just over a mile from where she died, to celebrate her life.
The daughter of former Penn State standout and NFL linebacker Brandon Short, Karli Short had a caring nature that friends and family said shined through in her work at senior communities.
Her father did not attend the memorial in person but had a message for his daughter’s killer.
“I don’t know if I can ever find peace if we don’t catch the people who killed my daughter,” Brandon Short said. “I want the criminals and anyone who is keeping their secrets to know that our quest for justice will not go away until we track down her killer.”
Short was shot and killed on Sept. 13. Police found her after receiving a call for an unresponsive woman lying along 25th Street in the Christy Park section of McKeesport. She had been shot in the head, and she was pronounced dead at the scene.
Those gathered at Renziehausen Park said she was excited to become a first-time mother. Her child was due in February. She planned to name him Zachary, they said, after her grandfather.
“It wasn’t just Karli,” said the Rev. Earlene Coleman, pastor at Bethlehem Baptist Church where Short attended services and was involved with Sunday school. “It was also her unborn child that died in the womb at the hands of someone doing this senseless act.”
Her grandmother, Ramona Wilkes, read a poem written about her granddaughter.
“If you only knew how bad my heart aches, for she was my Karli Shortcake,” she read.
McKeesport Mayor Michael Cherepko spoke candidly, acknowledging that sometimes “when these things take place, all too often – and this is the sad part – some people in our community say, ‘Well, it’s another shooting.’
“Make no mistake: that is not how I think,” Cherepko said.
“As mayor, I’m pleading with you to try to step up and come forward with information,” he said. “You have no idea how many crimes would be solved and cases closed and justice be served for these senseless acts of violence if we just had a little input from the community.”
In a pleading voice, he asked: “If you know something, come forward.”
Blackwell said there is a $20,000 reward for information that leads to an arrest in the killing. Half of that was raised by the family, and the other half was donated by local businessman Richard Bazzy.
Diamond Watts grew up alongside Short. Their grandmothers were friends when they were born, she said, and they grew up like sisters.
She tried to speak at the memorial.
“I can’t even find the words to say right now,” she said, flanked by friend Dazhia Clark and a larger-than-life banner celebrating Karli’s life.
“Karli didn’t deserve this. She was the most loving, caring person ever,” she said. “She always just wanted to see the next person smiling.”
She broke down and crumpled into Clark, who hugged her and took over.
“Y’all took somebody who had the biggest heard and gave everything, and y’all took everything from us,” she said. “Y’all took a friend, a daughter, a niece, a cousin, a godmom, and aunt – everything. Y’all robbed her and y’all robbed us.”
Allegheny County Police are investigating Short’s homicide. Tipsters can remain anonymous if they wish, and police can be contacted via social media or 1-833-ALL-TIPS (1-833-255-8477).
Megan Guza is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Megan at 412-380-8519, mguza@triblive.com or via Twitter .
"Short" - Google News
September 24, 2021 at 02:38AM
https://ift.tt/3ABTK7G
'It was also her unborn child': Friends, family plead for information in Karli Short homicide - TribLIVE
"Short" - Google News
https://ift.tt/2QJPxcA
Bagikan Berita Ini
0 Response to "'It was also her unborn child': Friends, family plead for information in Karli Short homicide - TribLIVE"
Post a Comment