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A mother, mourning the tragic loss of her daughter to violence, is now engaged in a legal battle for custody of her grandchild.
Tacara Reese-Windom, aged 23, was fatally shot in Dallas last week while her five-month-old child was in the car with her. Dallas Police reported the incident occurred in the 500 block of South Carroll Avenue.
Lavone Richardson, Reese-Windom’s mother, received the devastating call at 5 a.m.
“It’s a call nobody wants to get,” Richardson expressed. “She was light. She was a big ball of light and everybody that knew her loved her.”
The fact that Reese-Windom’s five-month-old baby, Ke’Ani, was present in the vehicle during the shooting compounds the tragedy.
Richardson had expected baby Ke’Ani to be back home with her by now, but she has not seen her grandchild since the day her daughter was killed.
“I’ve watched her since the time she came out of my daughter until the time she came home from the hospital and have had her every day,” she shared. “And to not have her present along with her mother, it’s tearing us to shreds.”
NBC reached out to the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services regarding the case. A spokesperson confirmed that Ke’Ani is currently in the state’s care.
According to a statement provided to NBC 5, “It is our policy to check out and conduct home studies on relatives who want to take care of a child when the parents are not able to take care of the child.”
Richardson expressed that this is not what her daughter would have wanted.
“I know in my heart that if anything happened to her, she would want her daughter to be with her mother. I’m the one who raised her for 23 years, so I’m sure she would want her child to be with me,” Richardson stated.
State law permits grandparents to request possession or access to a grandchild. The state clarified that the courts will ultimately decide where five-month-old Ke’Ani will be placed.
“My heart is already so broken. And to not have her, she is the missing link,” Richardson lamented.
Richardson informed NBC 5 that she has undergone home evaluations and hired a lawyer to petition for custody.
Additional information on the murder investigation has been requested from Dallas Police. Details regarding the murder are scant, with no information released on suspects or arrests at this time.