Man, 18, charged in fatal shooting of 19-year-old Michigan State University student in Chatham
CHICAGO (WLS) -- An 18-year-old man is charged in the fatal shooting of Lyniah Bell, a Michigan State University student who was home on winter break in Chicago when she was killed.
Lafayette Hodges, 18, is charged with involuntary manslaughter, Chicago police said.
Bell was fatally shot inside an apartment in the 8100 block of South Maryland Avenue in Chatham Friday night.
Police said Hodges turned himself in Saturday morning.
Police told ABC7 Hodges didn't intentionally fire his weapon.
Bell's mother, Evelyn Hightower, alleges that her daughter was shot in the head by her boyfriend.
Bell's family said her teenage boyfriend beat her up and then pulled out a gun. A neighbor called 911 after they heard the gun shot.
"It is a shock to me that it was Lyniah and that he killed my baby probably over nothing," said Hightower.
Bell was on a full-ride academic scholarship at Michigan State, studying journalism.
She was also a graduate of North Lawndale College Prep.
In a letter to parents, the school's president and CEO, Dr. Garland Thomas-McDavid, said counseling resources will be available at the school on Monday and Tuesday between 10:00 a.m. and 2:00 p.m.
While in high school, Bell was a National Honor Society inductee and belonged to the Theater Club and Hoops High. She was also a Peace Warrior and a CAPS student instructor.
"We just can't say enough good about the positive impact she had on the school community," the letter read. "She will be missed dearly, and our hearts grieve alongside her mother and family."
