"She was my world. She was the reason that I got up every day," Sheila Robinson said of her daughter, Dominque. Dominique, 19; her aunt, Ursala Nailor; and Nailor's sons, Darnell Holt and Daniel Nailor; were shot to death on January 17. Their bodies were found in the family's burning DuPage County home.
Police suspect Nailor's on-again, off-again boyfriend, Cedric Anderson, is the killer. He was found dead in his father's home in Dolton. Police say Cedric killed himself and left behind a note, but he didn't take responsibility for the four murders.
In the numbing hours since, the victims' relatives have found great comfort in the words of friends, but the pain is raw.
"A part of my world is gone. I'm lost. I'm gonna need all of them to keep me going. It's never gonna be OK, never gonna be over for me," Robinson said.
Nailor was preparing to move to Alabama with her family, and that move may have been a factor in what happened. Anderson was head to prison on a drug case.
The Nailor family does not want to dwell on why. "Even if we knew why, it doesn't change situation. It's not going to bring them back," Ephraim Nailor, Daniel's father, said.
"[We] did a lot of things together as a family, because that's who we are." Doris Wallace, Nailor's mother, said.
For now, they look for strength in each other and their faith. Plans for a memorial service for the four victims are pending.
