Delaware
Family of Camay Mitchell De Silva, Delaware State shooting victim, speaks out:
WILMINGTON, Del. (CBS) – Four days after the unthinkable happened, the family of Camay Mitchell De Silva came together to speak out.
The 18-year-old Concord High School graduate died after she was shot on the campus of Delaware State University early Sunday morning.
“In 18 years of her life, she gave us a lot,” her grandfather Martin De Silva said.
Her family said she was a light in this world dimmed much too soon.
“We want to see her come through that door. Reality is that she’s not,” Martin De Silva said.
“Camay was my first born and honestly my best friend,” her mother Shanelle De Silva said.
Diligent, funny and at times feisty – Camay Mitchell De Silva’s mother, grandfather and aunt are holding tight onto memories of the person they affectionately called “May May.”
“We also called her ‘Auntie May’ because she took care of all the little ones,” her aunt Charlotte De Silva Davis added. Shanelle De Silva said she called her daughter, “Lady Bug.”
Sitting in the living room of their Wilmington home, the family was still trying to process what happened over the weekend. Together they shared pieces of Camay Mitchell De Silva’s life, their hope for justice and how they plan on carrying on her legacy.
“Camay never ceased to impress me. Like my family said, reading young, walking, talking, just everything she did, she did it early and maybe that was just a way to know she wasn’t going to be here as long as we wanted her to be here,” Shanelle De Silva said about her daughter.
Camay Mitchell De Silva’s family said she was at DSU visiting her best friend when the shooting happened. The plan for her was to enroll at the school this fall with dreams of one day working in the cybersecurity world.
“I wish she would’ve made it that day. She could’ve come home and tell me another one of her stories,” Charlotte De Silva Davis said through tears.
Since the beginning of the investigation, Dover police said the 18-year-old was an innocent bystander. On Thursday, the department said it is “still making good progress” in the investigation.
Her loved ones are praying justice comes soon.
“You just took someone that had nothing to do with what you had going on, so anybody who knows anything, the person who did this, just please come forward,” Shanelle De Silva said.
Standing alongside the family was Bishop Jeffery Broughton Sr., who said he is spiritual support for the family.
“This is a seat that no one wants to sit in. To see the pain, to see the sorrow,” Broughton said. “Let’s stop the violence. Let’s not cause another Camay to be in another family, but let’s all stand up, let’s say something and if you know something, please reach out to the authorities and let them know.”
Her mother said Camay was a cheerleader who excelled in school. The family also remembers her as a “techie,” often fixing whatever was broken in the house, such as a remote or a computer.
“You’d think she made the device,” her grandfather said.
Family was most important to Camay, though. It was part of the reason she came back home after briefly attending Morgan State University in Baltimore.
The family sat down for dinner together every Sunday. They just didn’t know her last one would be so soon.
“She came in the kitchen and she said, ‘Bye Nini, I love you!’ and she kissed me on the cheek and it was a different goodbye,” Charlotte De Silva Davis said. That moment was on April 14 – a week before her death.
It was easy to see just how loved Camay Mitchell De Silva was. On Wednesday night, at least 100 people came together for a vigil. Together they released balloons into the area and set up a candle memorial spelling out her name.
Plans are still coming together for Camay Mitchell De Silva’s services. Her family said it will be New Jersey because she was born there and spent part of her childhood there. They said it was a place she simply loved.
“This family, together we’re going to build something that will let the world know her or care to know about her because we want her name to live on,” Martin De Silva said. He later added, “We’re going to make sure that name becomes endless.”
Delaware Supreme Court Justice Karen L. Valihura announced Wednesday that she will lead a new corporate law institute at the Wilmington University Farnan School of Law.
She will step down from the bench of Delaware’s highest court in late July, after choosing not to seek reappointment at the end of her 12-year term. She revealed her plans for the next phase of her legal career in a special session of the court in Wilmington.
As well as joining the Wilmington University law school faculty, Valihura will be the founding director of the school’s new Corporate Law, Governance and Practice Institute. …
Wilmington Police are investigating the fatal shooting of a 16-year-old boy Tuesday night in Wilmington’s Hilltop neighborhood.
According to police, the shooting occurred at approximately 8:33 p.m. in the 1600 block of West 5th Street.
On their arrival at the scene, police say they located the 16-year-old with at least one gunshot wound and transported him to a local hospital, where he later died from his injuries.
This incident remains under investigation.
Police did not share whether there have been any arrests in connection with the shooting or a possible motive.
Wilmington Police encourage anyone with information about this incident, contact Detective Justin Wilkers at (302) 576-3634. Information can also be sent to Delaware Crime Stoppers at 1-800-TIP-3333, or Delawarecrimestoppers.com.
The Wilmington Police Department (WPD) Victim Service Unit and Youth Response Unit are available to provide information and support to victims, children, and families affected by this incident.
The Victim Service Unit can be reached at (302) 576-3622, and the Youth Response Unit can be reached at (302) 576-3183.
NEW CASTLE COUNTY, D.E, – Two 17-year-olds, Cara and Nathan, were struck and killed while walking on South Dupont Highway, according to Delaware State Police. Police say the driver did not stay at the scene, but investigators have now arrested a suspect.
Community mourns teens killed on South Dupont Highway
What we know:
Delaware State Police say the crash happened around 1:10 a.m. last Sunday while Cara and Nathan were walking an e-bike in or near the left lane of southbound Dupont Parkway near Denny Lynn Drive. Police say the driver initially stopped but then left the scene.
Troopers later arrested 23-year-old Nizaiah Ellis during a traffic stop and say the car had damage consistent with the crash.
Police say the two teens were headed to Cara’s house to leave for a trip with her family later that day.
Family and friends gathered Tuesday for a memorial to remember Cara and Nathan.
“It’s still new. It comes in waves but sometimes you just feel paralyzed and numb,” said Rachel Roderick and Heather Feeley, the teens’ mothers.
“I want others to hug their babies extra tight. Take so many photos you don’t know what to do to them. (Say yes to your kids more.)” said Roderick and Feeley.
“Forgiveness would have been easier had he not left our babies. Left. So senseless,” said Cara’s mother, Heather Feeley.
Roderick said, “It’s beautiful. The love is what’s keeping us going. The support of the community.”
The teens’ lives and dreams remembered
Cara graduated high school a year early and was a student at Del Tech, hoping to become a cosmetologist.
Nathan would have been a senior in high school this fall and wanted to own a mechanics business working on boats, motorcycles and cars.
Family and friends described the teens as kind and deeply loved.
“They were so kind. They loved everyone as is displayed here today. No one was not a friend and they loved each other immensely,” said Feeley. “They both touched so many lives and I don’t even think they realized how big of an impact they left on everyone,” said Roderick.
Kaelynn Miller, one of Cara’s best friends who helped organize the memorial, said, “Kara and Nathan never deserved this. If anyone is listening to this they weren’t just a person. The people you took were some of the most genuine souls out there.”
Today would have been Cara’s 18th birthday. Parents said the two were dating at the time of their deaths.
A GoFundMe has been set up for Cara’s family and Nathan’s family.
What we don’t know:
Police have not released further details about the investigation or any potential charges for the driver.
Additional information about the ongoing case has not been provided.
The Source: Information from Delaware State Police and interviews at the memorial.
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