CLEVELAND — A $500,000 bond has been set for Lavia Paul, 23, who is accused of shooting and killing 25-year-old Kiara Jackson at Cleveland Metroparks Mill Creek Falls.
Paul issued a not-guilty plea this morning.
She has been charged with murder.
Watch the arraignment:
Court records show Paul was on probation at the time of the shooting after pleading guilty to child endangerment in January.
What happened?
Early Wednesday morning, police were called to Cleveland Metroparks Mill Creek Falls, located off Turney Road in Cleveland, for reports of a shooting. When they arrived, officers found Jackson had been fatally shot.
Metroparks Police Chief Kelly Stillman said a preliminary investigation indicates that Jackson was part of a group that gathered at the park not long before the shooting.
“They came down after an all-day long event somewhere else and then went down here," Stillman said. "The park was closed, actually, at 11 p.m., so they got down here probably around 3 a.m. and then this happened shortly after."
Because of the size of the group, he said they were able to talk with a number of witnesses and from that get a lead on the alleged shooter.
Stillman said as far as he knows, no altercation happened before the shooting.
The chief said cameras and technology helped identify Paul and her vehicle, which was seen leaving the park after the shooting. License plate readers tracked her movements.
Paul turned herself in to police around 7:40 p.m. Wednesday but refused to talk to detectives. The chief said the gun used in the shooting hasn't been found.
Police said it appears Paul and Jackson knew each other, but it's unknown how long for or to what extent.
Watch coverage of the shooting below:
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Stillman said it was a group effort with Cleveland Police and other units investigating this case that led to the charges.
"When crimes such as this happen, we can't do everything alone," Stillman said.
Cleveland Metroparks Police held a news conference Thursday morning after the arraignment and provided some new information about what happened the night of the shooting.
Watch the news conference below.
Jackson's family reacts
As police began that investigation in those early morning hours, Deshawnte Jackson woke to a text.
"I just seen somebody say 'I'm sorry,' so I'm like what are they talking about," she said.
That's when she says she received a call from her mother, letting her know that her sister, Kiara, a mother of two small children, was gone.
"I don't want to think even want to think about it, it's hard especially a sibling like I never, I can't, I just never picture this," Jackson said.
She said Kiara was a fun person who got along with everyone, especially in their family, where Jackson says she was one of more than a dozen siblings.
"She was one of the ones that I felt like was more grounded and kind of like never like pick and chose sides. Like she was just a good friend to all of them," Jackson said.
And it is in that family network that Deshawnte and her siblings now seek comfort, as they search for the answers that they know will never make sense.
“We gonna deal with it. We got a big family, we’ll get through it, she’s a good girl. I love her to death. I’m sorry it happened like, senseless.”
