A mother and her young daughter were found fatally shot inside a car in Florida, leaving their family desperately searching for answers.
Beatrice Saintvil, 27, and her 4-year-old daughter Janelle were discovered inside a parked vehicle off the Florida Turnpike in Hollywood, Florida with gunshot wounds on June 7, according to a press release from the Broward County Sheriff’s Office. Investigators believe the shooting occurred about 30 minutes before troopers with the Florida Highway Patrol responded to the scene at 11:50 p.m.
The sheriff’s office reported that the girl was pronounced dead at the scene, while Saintvil succumbed to her injuries at a local hospital shortly after. Authorities are investigating the shooting as a double homicide but have yet to identify any suspects.
“We want to know who did it,” Saintvil’s sister, Kyanna Librun, told NBC Miami. “We want to see their face and ask them why. Why? A 4-year-old baby girl and a 27-year-old mother who never had a problem with anyone, why? We want to know why?”
Librun described her sister as “a dancer, a party maker,” and a “lover,” often serving as the peacemaker in the family, NBC Miami reported.
According to WSVN, authorities released a 911 call that potentially captured the mother and daughter’s last moments. The caller can be heard seemingly trying to help the pair, saying, “Get up! Get up! (Unintelligible) gonna be OK.” It is unclear if the caller witnessed the shooting.
A GoFundMe campaign has been created to help offset the funeral expenses for the mother and daughter, stating they “touched the lives of many with their warmth, kindness, and unwavering spirit.”
The Broward County Sheriff’s Office (BSO)is seeking the public’s help identifying the shooter. The sheriff’s office announced on Wednesday that the reward to find whoever killed Beatrice Saintvil and her four-year-old child has been doubled from $5,000 to $10,000. Anyone with information on the deadly shooting is urged to contact BSO Homicide Detective Ryan Schnakenberg at 954-321-4247 or submit a tip through the SaferWatch app.