Brave Georgia Boy, 9, Helps Police Catch Mom’s Accused Killer

LAKE CITY, GA — Imagine you’re 9 and you see your mother gunned down in front of you. What do you do? This boy in Georgia who witnessed the horror unfolding at his home in Lake City not only ran to a neighbor next door for help, but also helped police track down 27-year-old Iyonna Hodo’s accused killer.

“This kid is the bravest kid I know to call police for his mom,” 9-year-old Justin’s grandmother wrote on a crowdfunding page to raise money for his care and to cover Hod0’s funeral expenses.

He sure is brave, the Clayton County Sheriff Victor Hill said in a statement. He “made it clear he wanted the man who killed his mother caught and was even brave enough to ride with the sheriff” to show him where the accused killer may have fled, according to the release.

Hodo’s boyfriend, Darius Deandre Evans, was arrested Sunday morning after a six-hour manhunt and charged with felony malice murder. He is being held at the Clayton County Jail without bond.

Evans is accused of shooting Hodo multiple times Saturday as her son watched. Police said he left the apartment after shooting her, and then came back and began shooting again. Hodo wasn’t breathing when her son went to the neighbor’s to get help, according to police, who said she was pronounced dead upon arrival at an area hospital.

On a GoFundMe page, Hod0’s family said she was in the process of breaking up with Evans when she was killed.

“Domestic violence is never OK,” the family wrote, encouraging others in abusive relationships to call a domestic abuse hotline. The National Domestic Violence Hotline numbers are (800) 799-7233 and (800) 787-3224.

Hod0’s sister, Vanshon Walker, told television station KPNX/KNAZ that Evans “was a good person until he started drinking.”

“Once he started drinking, he was never himself, but he was always controlling-like and wanted to talk down about her,” Walker said. “She was in the process of leaving the relationship, and I know she was serious this time, because she actually called me looking for an apartment to move into.”

The Justice Department’s Violence Policy Center says the majority of domestic assaults reported to police take place after a couple separates. Nearly three women are murdered every day by their abusive husbands or boyfriends, according to the most recent statistics. And though domestic violence occurs across boundaries of race, class and gender, black women like Hodo are disproportionately killed — comprising about half of all domestic violence murder victims, but only 13 percent of the female population in the United States.

Hill, the Clayton County sheriff, said in a news release he plans to “ask the courts for the maximum penalties for Evans while he now faces the wall at Georgia’s toughest para-military jail.”

Hodo’s family wants justice, too, but their more immediate concern is for Justin. The GoFundMe campaign had raised nearly $4,700 of a $20,000 goal by midday Thursday.

“Let’s all pray for this angel Iyonna Hodo and have the lord cover her son Justin and keep him safe forever,” the family wrote.

Hodo’s family described her on the page as “a character, a very happy mother,” and “someone who would give her last to just always lend a hand — Iyonna was a very special person and was loved by everyone.”

Lead photo via GoFundMe, a Patch promotional partner.