Family and friends of a West Seattle woman and an 11-year-old girl who were murdered nearly two weeks ago in St. Louis County, Missouri, gathered Sunday afternoon at High Point Commons Park to hold a vigil in honor of their memory.
The family of 53-year-old Mioshi McCloud and 11-year-old My’Elle Harris tells KIRO 7 it’s been a rough few weeks for them.
“Just out of the blue, your loved one, especially your little sister, my little sister, can be taken away like that,” Schwanda Taylor Crow, McCloud’s sister, told KIRO 7.
Crow says McCloud moved to St. Louis more than a year ago to get a fresh start and be closer to other families.
She says her sister was a great singer who was part of many concerts, collaborations and projects over the years in Seattle.
As for My’Elle, family and friends say she was a mini version of Mioshi who loved to read.
“Just a mommy’s girl and a grandma’s girl. Girls everywhere, girl,” said Florida Steele Taylor, Mioshi’s sister-in-law.
Berkely police found McCloud and Harris stabbed to death in a home nearly two weeks ago.
Police arrested McCloud’s own son, 28-year-old Lawrente ‘O’Cain, in connection with their deaths.
He remains in custody and has been charged with two counts of first-degree murder and two counts of armed criminal action.
Florida Steele Taylor, Mioshi’s sister-in-law, said McCloud had been trying to get mental help from O’Cain for some time. She also believes this tragedy is a sign of the mental health issues that the US continues to not address.
“But it should also give us an opportunity to talk about what mental health really means in our community,” Taylor said.
‘That’s where they let them down. They failed them,” Crow said.
And while many people shared many fond memories of McCloud and Harris at Sunday’s vigil, they believe the mental health system is broken and hope something like this doesn’t happen to another family.
“It’s a broken system and it has failed our communities. Not just this community, but all communities,” Crow said.
A GoFundMe has been set up to help the family with funeral and other expenses.
