SAN PABLO (KRON) — The family of a murdered pregnant teenager is speaking out for the first time.
Ilaysia McCoy was shot and killed earlier this month in San Pablo. Her unborn child also did not survive.
On Wednesday night, her mom and dad spoke exclusively to KRON4 about their loss.
This family said it is still dealing with a lot of sleepless nights.
“She was so excited about this baby and now she’s gone….God is gonna take care of her,” mother Regina Sandoval said.
She was the youngest of five siblings and expecting a baby girl in November. McCoy was killed a week before her shower.
“Being with someone for 18 years, then they’re gone the next day,” Sandoval said.
Last Monday, Lay Lay, as she’s affectionately called by loved ones, was shot on the 1700 block of 17th Street.
“It was a domestic thing. It was a young lady that had a baby and having a disagreement with the young man that got her pregnant,” Executive Director and Founder of the Bay Area Peacekeepers Gonzalo Rucobo said.
By Wednesday morning, Luis Morales was arrested at an apartment complex in Vallejo after a 9-hour standoff with police.
Soon after, a person of interest, Luciano Duarte, turned himself in. Both men are still behind bars.
“Gun violence period is not a good thing,” father Lewis McCoy said.
The recent Richmond High graduate attended a family reunion just two days before she was killed.
Loved ones are now holding on to memories, memories of when the teen spent time volunteering and helping others, as they scramble to get donations for a burial.
The district attorney will decide if a double homicide charge will come from this shooting.
In the meantime, Lay Lay’s family tells KRON4 after delivering her baby girl, her plan was to continue on her path to becoming a police officer.
A GoFundMe account has been set up for McCoy.