[Warning: Potentially Triggering Content]
This is heartbreaking.
According to local news station WKBW, Keaira Hudson – a mother of three from Buffalo, New York — was shot to death in her SUV on Wednesday morning. The shocking murder comes just days after she posted a video of her husband beating her on social media.
Her sister Montaysha Jeter told the outlet the 30-year-old had been in an abusive marriage with a man named Adam Bennefield and was staying with their mother at the time because she feared for her life. The sibling shared she even planned on going to court to fight against his request for custody of their kids, saying:
“She’s been staying at my mom’s house for the last couple of days and she was going to go to court today because he was trying to get custody.”
However, Keaira never made it to the courthouse on Wednesday. Her family told WKBW she had been so afraid of what Adam might do that she put on a bulletproof vest before leaving the house to drop her three children off at school in the morning. Montaysha said their mother had asked Keaira why she was putting on the vest that day and claimed the victim replied, “because mom he’s going to kill me you don’t understand.” Whoa. No one should ever be that scared to leave their home — and because of their partner? Our heart just breaks for what this woman must have experienced. And sadly, we know now that she was right…
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Montaysha recalled that just when Keaira went around the corner that day, Adam allegedly “smashed into the front of her car and got out of the car with a shotgun, shot her and pulled off.” An ex-boyfriend and father of one of Keaira’s children, Andrew Hodge, told WKBW that their daughter had been in the car and witnessed the death of her mom. Awful.
As we mentioned before, this murder came after Keaira had posted a disturbing video of herself being repeatedly punched by her husband on Facebook before escaping to her mother’s house. She captioned the clip at the time:
“this is what this man dose [sic] to me but i’m always treated like i’m the abuser !”
You can see the video HERE, but warning — it is extremely graphic. Montaysha explained to WKBW that the mom was looking for someone to “help” her, saying:
“She’s just been trying to get help. I’ve been with her going to police stations, she’s been texting me, sending me videos, giving me her phone password just in case.”
Meanwhile, Hodge said Keaira was reaching out to him to figure out the best way to keep her family safe:
“She would call and ask questions saying ‘what should I do?’ When the video was posted on Facebook, everybody saw it. Everybody was trying to help her and this is what happens.”
He also noted to the outlet that Adam “was arrested a couple of days ago for domestic violence.” According to WKBW on Thursday, the suspect was actually taken into custody for the brutal attack and released the day before the murder. What?! The Erie County District Attorney’s Office provided more details on the situation, saying that on September 28, the 45-year-old punched and kicked Keaira inside their home. He also allegedly brought out a knife and a box cutter during the attack, prevented her from leaving the house, and took her phone away in order to stop her from calling for help.
Adam was arraigned in Cheektowaga Town Court on Tuesday for one count of third-degree assault, two counts of fourth-degree criminal mischief, one count of second-degree menacing, one count of second-degree unlawful imprisonment, and one count of second-degree harassment. However, the DA’s office claimed he was released on his own recognizance since the charges did qualify to set bail. While Adam was released, prosecutors did request for a temporary order of protection to force him to stay away from Keaira. And, well, we all know what happened the very next morning…
Police are still trying to find Adam for questioning at this time. We cannot imagine what Keaira’s family must be going through right now. We are sending them our love as they go through this difficult time.
[Image via Keaira Hudson/Facebook, Buffalo Police Department]
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