‘I haven't let her go’: Indy mother of 2 killed in Christmas Day shooting
The Christmas decorations are still up at Desmen Wilson’s apartment, but he didn’t get to celebrate this year.
He was still asleep when his older brother started to call and text early on Dec. 25, but eventually Wilson answered the phone.
'She's gone,’ Wilson's older brother told him.
Wilson, 26, rushed to a home on East 52nd Place on the northeast side of Indianapolis. There he found crime scene tape, police cars and his crying mother. His sister had been shot and killed. Her covered body was still on the ground.
“Nobody wants to spend Christmas like that, losing a sibling,” Wilson said. “As a sister, she was my best friend. We would tell our secrets to each other. We were pretty close.”
Shania Shaw, 24, was a single mother to two young children. She was bubbly and thoughtful.
Police believe Shaw was shot and killed by the father of her two kids, according to court documents.
More Indianapolis news: Laura Jones was found dead on the roof of Slippery Noodle. But there's more to her story
“You just hope that she receives the justice she deserves,” said Shaw’s cousin Tomorrow Rose. “It's important we, friends and family, continue to talk to people when we see them going through things and just try to help them be aware and comfortable to speak out.”
Rose has a background in social work and has seen the impacts of domestic violence many times. She remembers how great her cousin was at being a mother.
“Being a single mother is hard, but she did that and she did that very well,” Rose said. “Nia spent a lot of time with her kids. You can tell just by how intelligent they are and how they interact.”
Shaw’s children, who are both younger than 2, are now being cared for by their grandmother, who is working to get full custody.
“(This) is something no child should ever go through,” Rose said.
The Christmas morning shooting
Hours after Shaw was killed, police announced the arrest of 24-year-old Sir Brown Jr. in her death.
Brown is now charged with murder, attempt to commit residential entry, domestic battery and unlawful carrying of a handgun, court records show.
Officers were called to the 6600 block of East 52nd Place around 5:15 a.m. on a report of a disturbance with shots fired.
Shaw was pronounced dead by medics and investigators found a bullet, shell casings, her purse and its contents spilled on the ground.
The owner of the home, later identified as Brown’s father, told police he had video footage of the shooting, according to the probable cause affidavit for his son's arrest.
More Indianapolis news: Stories of rising Indy youth violence 'shock the conscience.' But not everyone has given up
Brown’s father stated his son and Shaw had dropped off their kids then headed out to Broad Ripple. Brown and Shaw returned to the home around 4 a.m. and began arguing outside.
The argument became physical, and Brown started punching Shaw in the face while she was on the ground. Brown’s father came out to try and end the situation, then he got in a physical fight with his son, the father told police.
Brown threatened to shoot himself, so his father went back into the home and locked the door. The father then heard gunshots and Brown started kicking and shooting at the door to try and get inside the home, according to the affidavit.
Home surveillance video showed Shaw screaming for help before being shot, the affidavit reads.
Brown turned himself in to police at the City-County Building in downtown Indianapolis around 2:30 p.m. on Christmas Day, investigators said.
An attorney for Brown was not yet listed in online court records before publication of this article. A status hearing in his case is set for 9 a.m. Jan. 17.
‘I haven't let her go’
When he thinks of his sister, Wilson remembers growing up together in church at Indianapolis Baptist Temple.
On Sundays a van would pick the siblings up for services, on Wednesdays they would go to Bible studies and one summer they went to church camp and stayed in college dorms in Cincinnati.
"(She was) a joyful spirit,” Wilson said. “She was easy to get along with.”
Shaw was the youngest of her three siblings and attended Broad Ripple High School. A few days after her death, friends from high school and family from different cities and states gathered to help remember the young mother.
“It just don't seem real," Wilson said. I haven't let her go."
More Indianapolis news: Sunglasses to survival: Indy woman wants to help you stop hiding abuse
Shaw worked at Floor & Decor and was the princess of her family. Her loved ones plan to bury her in the bright pink dress she wore to prom.
“She looked beautiful in her dress,” Rose said. “She was a beautiful person. I wish I spent more time (with her). To know her was to love her.”
Shaw’s family has started a GoFundMe to raise money for her funeral and burial.
"I don't think no one has gotten through it,” Wilson said. “It's still freshly new. It hurts everybody to a certain extent. My mom is taking it the most because, obviously, she lost a child. That's the worst thing that can even happen in this world.”
Contact Jake Allen at jake.allen@indystar.com. Follow him on Twitter @Jake_Allen19.
This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Indianapolis family grieves for mother of 2, killed on Christmas
