Background: A section of the 2700 block of Ketchum Place in Memphis, Tenn. (Google Maps). Inset: Ladarrius Payne (GoFundMe).
During a birthday getaway, a woman was confronted with a devastating tragedy: her teenage son had been fatally shot by a family member back in Tennessee.
The grieving mother, Jaquisha Beasley, identified her son as 13-year-old Ladarrius Payne, who became a victim of a shooting incident earlier this month. The Memphis Police Department confirmed to Law&Crime that a 15-year-old has been charged with reckless homicide in connection with the case.
Heartbreakingly, the accused is reportedly the son of Beasley’s brother, adding an even more painful layer to the family tragedy.
On May 17, around 5:45 p.m., officers were dispatched to a shooting scene on the 2700 block of Ketchum Place in Memphis. Upon arrival, they discovered Ladarrius suffering from a gunshot wound. Sadly, he was pronounced dead at the scene.
Beasley shared her anguish on a GoFundMe page, explaining that she was in New Orleans, Louisiana, celebrating her birthday, which had occurred just the day before. “I received the worst news a mother could ever receive,” she expressed, a sentiment all too poignant in her heartbreaking circumstances.
Beasley said in a GoFundMe that she was in New Orleans, Louisiana, at the time celebrating her birthday, which was the day before. “I received the worst news a mother could ever receive,” she wrote.
“Nervous, shocked, and confused, I hit the highway wishing I could make it back to my son, Ladarrius,” the mother added. “He was in 7th grade at Memphis Academy of Science & Engineering, an honors student, and also played on multiple football teams. My son’s life was taken away due to gun violence… I would never imagine losing a child.”
Beasley said that because the investigation is still going on, she has been given scant details. However, family members told local NBC affiliate WMC that the defendant is Beasley’s nephew.
“You just don’t understand how it can go this way,” Kenna Miller, Beasley’s older sister, said, adding that their family is broken. “It’s kind of like two lives. I lost my nephew, my sister’s son, and I lost my other nephew really because we don’t know how his outcome is going to be.”
Beasley said she and her children were searching for a house in recent weeks and “finally found one and were in the process of bidding on it.”
Everything has now changed.
“I had to pause everything because I had to use our house money to pay for my son’s funeral,” she said in the fundraiser. “At this moment, my three children and I are staying with family members.”
The 15-year-old’s name has not been released.
