How to help family of a 'fabulous' mother' shot to death in South Jersey

Jim Walsh, Cherry Hill Courier-Post
·2 min read
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BURLINGTON TWP. - Two young children who lost their mother to domestic violence will grow up knowing her, a family member says.

Images and mementos of 34-year-old Stephanie “Steph” Vil “will be everywhere” in her children's home, said the slain woman’s aunt, Trina Hill of Burington Township.

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“They will see her,” she vowed of Vil’s children, 10-year-old Ta-lil and his three-month-old sister, Ja-Lani.

“We want them to know how fabulous she was,” said Hill.

'She loved somebody who killed her'

Vil was slain Feb. 12 in an apparent incident of domestic violence in a daylight shooting on a Trenton street.

Her boyfriend - Jamar Leonard, 38, of Burlington Township - has been charged with murder and weapons offenses.

“She loved somebody who killed her,” said Hill, asserting Leonard had threatened Vil’s life four days before the shooting.

Hill's family has launched a GoFundMe appeal seeking to raise money for the victim's children.

The campaign had raised almost $10,000 by Friday afternoon toward a goal of $20,000.

"Our hearts are forever broken into pieces," Hill wrote in the appeal.

Son's touching display

She noted that Vil's son, when told of his mother's death, "walked over and picked up" his baby sister.

"He said nothing, but he broke everyone in the room," said Hill.

She added the boy's caring action "broke us even more because it goes directly to show how much love Steph poured into her babies."

Victim had graduation plans

Vil, a Trenton High School graduate, worked as a day-program manager for Ewing-based SERV Behavioral Health System Inc.

She also was attending Prism Career Institute in Cherry Hill to become a nurse, with hopes of one day buying a home for her family, said Trina Hill.

She said Prism is expected to present a nursing license at Vil's funeral, recognizing her intended graduation in October.

"She was funny, she was loving, and she was a hard worker,” said Trina Hill. "She didn’t deserve this, how good of a person she was."

Vil was shot shortly around 9:05 a.m. after she drove to West Hanover Avenue and approached a parked vehicle, according to the Mercer County Prosecutor's Office.

The charges against Leonard are only allegations. He has not been convicted in the case.

Jim Walsh is a senior reporter for the Courier-Post, Burlington County Times and The Daily Journal.

This article originally appeared on Cherry Hill Courier-Post: GoFundMe benefits family of Stephanie Vil, Burlington homicide victim