Family gathers Saturday to mourn slain Fort Pierce woman in unsolved homicide
FORT PIERCE — Tragedy surrounds the end of Veneetia Parker's life, and many years of struggle and setbacks preceded it.
"I wanted to see her do good because she was a good person," said her former boyfriend, Roy Lloyd, 60, of Fort Pierce, who remained a friend and family supporter after they broke up. "And she would do anything for you. She was real nice."
Lloyd and others will gather at 1 p.m. Saturday at Tenth Street Park in Fort Pierce to memorialize Parker, the 52-year-old woman whose body was found Jan. 11 in the 2000 block of Totten Road, which is north of Okeechobee Road near Moonswiners Bar-B-Q.
The St. Lucie County Sheriff's Office said Parker had been shot six times. Detectives are looking for her assailant.
"I wonder who would do this," Lloyd said.
A South Boston, Virginia, native, Parker and other family members would later make St. Lucie County their home. Parker is also survived by four siblings. One of them, her sister Sherita Douglas, described her sister as a "very sweet person."
Parker's two sons, Devon Chandler, 32, and Kavon Antonio Chandler, 31, live in Fort Pierce. She also had three grandchildren.
"She can be very protective, like a Mama Bear," her oldest son said. "She can be kind sometimes but she can give tough love, and also she helps people any way she can."
A resident said that on Jan. 8 about 5:45 a.m., he heard six gunshots close to the Moonswiners parking lot. He looked out the window and saw a red sport utility vehicle, possible a Toyota or Honda, drive south toward the Moonswiners drive-thru.
Lloyd said he last saw Parker on Jan. 6 walking away from his home in the 500 block of North 18th Street. Parker had no permanent address, but would go to Lloyd's home to nap, take a shower, do laundry and visit her son Devon, who lives there.
"Some days we may not hear from her," Lloyd said. "We'd know she would be OK, wherever she'd be."
Lloyd was concerned after a few days that she hadn't returned. Parker's life as a drug abuser, though, had made him accustomed to not hearing from her, he said.
The Sheriff's Office was alerted to the dead body, which had no identification, on Jan. 11. Detectives showed up at Lloyd's home two days later and told him they had identified Parker as the homicide victim.
Previous story: Homicide victim ID'd as 52-year-old Fort Pierce woman
"I always encouraged her to get back on Social Security, you know, because she lost it because she got in trouble," Lloyd said. "I wanted her to start doing something with herself. You know, maybe find an apartment. She was nice. The problem was when the drugs took over."
Anyone with information about the homicide can call detectives at 772-462-3230 or Treasure Coast Crime Stoppers at 800-273-TIPS.
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Lamaur Stancil is the Treasure Coast regional economy reporter covering business and industries, including retail, tourism and hospitality. Contact him at 321-987-7179 or lamaur.stancil@tcpalm.com and follow him at Lamaur Stancil on Facebook and @TCPalmLStancil on Twitter.
This article originally appeared on Treasure Coast Newspapers: Family gathers Saturday to mourn slain Fort Pierce woman
