KANSAS CITY, Mo. — On Monday, a mother lost not only her daughter, but a piece of herself after a woman died in a shooting in Kansas City, Missouri.
Ashley Pettiford, 31, was one of three people to get shot near Linwood Boulevard and Agnes Avenue.
“I’m losing the love that she has for me, the relationship we built, her beautiful big smile, her laughter, her hugs, her voice [and] her just calling me beautiful," Carolyn Pettiford, who is Ashley's mother said. "Hey girl I’m [going to] miss it, I’m [going to miss it] because that was my baby."
According to Carolyn Pettiford, Ashley had a full life ahead of her, which was cut short after she died inside the same car as Jermaine Jackson.
“She was bubbly, she smiled [and] she loved doing hair," Carolyn Pettiford said. "She went to cosmetology school and she finished up cosmetology school and she loved doing natural hair, dreads [and] stuff like that."
When police arrived, they located Ashley's 5-year-old son, who was also wounded in the gunfire.
Carolyn Pettiford said the boy is expected to make a challenging, yet full recovery.
“To have to tell a 5-year-old that he won’t be able to talk to his mother, to tell a 5-year-old or explain to a 5-year-old that he will never be able to see his mother or to hug her, it’s hard,” Carolyn Pettiford said.
Carolyn said she will now raise her grandson along with her husband Nolan, trying to pick up where their daughter left off.
“I’ve been in his life from the time he was born and that’s my baby, they both my babies,” she said.
Now Carolyn and her family are hoping that the Kansas City community can put down the guns, and she can get justice for her daughter.
“All I can do is take one step at a time. Will I forget? No. Will it be a void? Yes, Will I get past it? Maybe,” she said. "With all the murders that are unsolved, please don’t let this one be unsolved, please."
