A baby girl who had been delivered by emergency cesarean section after her 17-year-old mother was fatally shot died Sunday in a hospital, San Diego police said.
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The mother, identified by her family as Jariah Edwards, was approximately 32 weeks pregnant when she was shot in the head shortly after 1 a.m. on May 30 outside a short-term vacation rental in Bay Park. Police said the teen and her family were vacationing in San Diego from Arizona when her ex-boyfriend allegedly shot her.
Police arrested 21-year-old Trevon Williams after he was found in a canyon near the home. Prosecutors say he is the father of the baby.
Williams last week pleaded not guilty to charges of murder, attempted murder and possession of a machine gun. Prosecutors said Williams ordered a Lyft ride from his home in Arizona to where the victim was staying with her family, lured her outside, then shot her in the head.
Paramedics transported her to the hospital, where she died and her baby girl was delivered.
At Williams’ arraignment last week, Deputy District Attorney Alexandra Lorens said the baby was delivered “with minimal brain activity as a result of loss of oxygen the child endured while being inside its dead mother.”
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According to the prosecutor, Edwards and Williams began dating last fall, but she was not speaking to him and had blocked his phone number at the time of her slaying due to alleged domestic violence and threats. The girl’s family was in the process of seeking a restraining order but was waiting until they moved so he would not know where she lived, Lorens said.
After being driven to San Diego, Williams was dropped off several houses from the home the family had rented, prosecutors said. He allegedly hid near the house and had a DoorDash order of flowers sent to it. The girl initially came outside with a family member, and Williams did not attack her at that time, Lorens said.
After the teen went back into the house, Williams allegedly arranged for DoorDash to deliver a vase. When the victim emerged from the house alone, that’s when Williams shot her, Lorens said.
In a GoFundMe, the family described Jariah as a “bright, loving young woman” and said she was surrounded by family and friends who “cherished her deeply.”
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City News Service contributed to this report.
