Background: News footage showcases the Birmingham, Ala. neighborhood where LaVentrice Denise Tolbert lost her life on Sept. 24 (WBRC). Inset: LaVentrice Denise “Vent” Tolbert (Facebook).
An Alabama woman who was fatally shot by her boyfriend in a murder-suicide had hinted to her sister that she was in trouble before she died.
On the night of Sept. 24, LaVentrice Denise Tolbert, aged 40, was tragically shot by her boyfriend, Tony Dewayne Davis, 35, who then ended his own life with the same firearm. When officers from the Birmingham Police Department responded to a report of a woman shot at a home on Kiser Road, they found Denise Tolbert already deceased.
After lingering for two days, Davis ultimately died from his self-inflicted gunshot wound.
Information from Al.com reveals that inside the residence, another occupant heard the gunshot while resting. On going downstairs, she encountered Davis, who was armed and reportedly stated he had no intentions of going back to jail.
Sgt. LaQuitta Wade, the spokesperson for the Birmingham Police Department, confirmed to Al.com that Davis shot Denise Tolbert before committing suicide. Though the house had several occupants at the time of the incident, none were injured.
Al.com interviewed Denise Tolbert’s sister, Monique Tolbert, who described the seven-year relationship between Denise and Davis as “abusive from the start.” She recounted a conversation with her sister just two days before the tragic event.
“She told me, ‘When I leave, you will be the one to plan my funeral,'” Monique Tolbert told Al.com. “She wanted me to be strong.”
Monique shared, “I told her I didn’t want to discuss it. I went inside, and she hugged me, saying she loved me.” Sadly, just two days later, Monique received “the worst phone call of my life.”
Monique Tolbert told Al.com, “I want to tell anyone else in this situation to seek help, talk to somebody, let them know what’s going on.”
