On Saturday afternoon, a mural was unveiled outside her Brooklyn home in honor of Samyia Spain, the teenage girl who was fatally stabbed in March after rejecting her killer’s advances.
Dozens of people gathered in a courtyard of the NYCHA Wyckoff Gardens housing complex in Boerum Hill for the unveiling of artist Tracy Molloy’s memorial mural, titled “Their Light Remains.” It features a large red phoenix and is a reminder of the slain 19-year-old and other community members who have died.
“It’s crazy. She did everything I did, right? I did it wrong, but she did it right,” said grief-stricken Spanish father Steven.
“She was a beautiful little girl. She did her thing, she loved to rap. She was a very sweet girl,” said resident Valerie Bell, 64. “She is truly missed, deeply missed.”
Many residents, from different generations, volunteered their time to help paint the large mural, Molloy said. KAVI, an anti-violence organization based in Brooklyn, organized the mural.
Spain and her twin sister Sanyia were picking up snacks at the Natural Plus Deli at Fourth Ave. and St. Marks Place in Park Slope late on March 17 when 20-year-old Veo Kelly began talking to the girls around 2:20 a.m., police said.
She started arguing with him and Kelly fatally stabbed Spain in the neck. He also stabbed her sister Sanyia in the arm.
Kelly is still being held at Rikers Island for the brutal murder, records show.
