A pregnant mother and a 16-year-old are dead after a shooting in Dayton.
Investigators said Precious Taste and the teen were killed by Nicole Cunigan Jr., Taste’s ex-boyfriend and father of at least two of her children.
Taste was four months pregnant at the time of her murder.
Family and friends gathered at Taste’s home Thursday to remember and honor her.
They talked about Taste’s kindness as they hugged and released purple balloons in her memory.
“Precious was a very loving, kind, sweet person. When you met Precious, you felt nothing but love,” said Latricia Murray, aunt of Taste’s children.
>>PREVIOUS COVERAGE: Police identify suspect accused of killing pregnant woman, 16-year-old, in Dayton shooting
Taste’s big brother Carl Thomas agreed.
“Beautiful soul, beautiful person, she never missed anything,” he said.
He recalled that Taste had thrown a birthday party for one of her children and invited the entire neighborhood to her house without asking for anything in return.
Tequila Miller, Taste’s best friend, said Taste confided in her about her relationship with Cunigan.
“I missed so many warning signs. I wish I had paid more attention to it. She talked to me a lot about the situation,” Miller said.
>> RELATED: Woman, 16-year-old dead after shooting in Dayton neighborhood
Miller and Murray both urged people in abusive relationships to speak out – and that their loved ones would listen when they did.
“Domestic violence is something that everyone needs to pay attention to,” Miller said.
Family members also had a message for Taste’s killer.
“Not only did you take Precious’s life, you took the life of an unborn child, and you took the life of another child. And you don’t know what you did to her children… this is destroying them,” Murray said.
“You stole joy, you stole a beautiful soul,” Thomas said.
Hours after the fatal shooting occurred, police said they found Cunigan’s car in a ditch in Trotwood.
They said he is armed and dangerous and if spotted he should not be approached but should call 911.
You can contact the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-7233 or text “START” to 88788.
