Whisper
May 15th, 2010, 12:04 AM
PEORIA — Orvette Davis would have left Peoria this weekend after a couple of hopeful weeks in town trying to land a job at the Caterpillar Inc. plant in Mossville.
Instead, a woman with no enemies - as her children described her Friday - traded her life for that of her granddaughter in a North Valley alley, where Davis' body was found beaten and strangled Thursday morning by a child walking to school.
Lying in a puddle next to Davis with a fractured skull was the infant, 8-month-old Aaliyah Gaston. The baby had spent hours there in intermittent rain and survived.
"She put her life on the line to save my baby," said Terrell Gaston, Davis' son and the father of Aaliyah. "And my mom is going to live through my baby."
Gaston said he believes his mother - whom he described as "on fire for God" - faced an impossible choice Wednesday afternoon and into the early morning hours Thursday: to protect the grandchild she was baby sitting or fend for herself.
Davis had been living with her daughter, Kattrina Gaston, in Lexington Hills Apartments for the last two weeks while in town from Chicago, where her husband still resides, on the job hunt.
She had been baby sitting Wednesday afternoon when she apparently caught a ride to the North Valley with an individual known to Davis as the boyfriend of a friend.
How Davis encountered her alleged killer, Edjuan Payne, remains unclear. A recent parolee, Payne appears to have lived most recently in the Rockford area.
During Payne's first appearance in a Peoria County courtroom on Friday, prosecutors revealed few details of how the two may have met. Assistant State's Attorney Steve Pattelli said during a bond hearing that Davis and Payne had known each other about a week.
The prosecutor also said Payne admitted he killed Davis at his house, 1401 NE Monroe St., then dumped the body and the child in the alley almost directly behind that home.
Police, however, responded to that home on a call from Terrell Gaston nearly two hours before the body was discovered. Peoria police dispatch records indicate officers were called to the home at 5:39 a.m. Thursday, but no one came to the door. Terrell Gaston said he believed his mother and child were inside at the time.
Later in the morning, after Davis' body had been found and police were at the scene, Payne apparently was involved in an altercation that led to his arrest.
Terrell Gaston had arrived at the house with a friend and exited the vehicle to speak to police. Payne came out of the house and asked the driver if he could use a cell phone. When the driver denied that request, Payne allegedly pulled a knife and began slashing a tire on the vehicle.
Police apprehended Payne at gunpoint and found he had a second knife with him, as well as a hammer. At the time of his capture, police apparently did not know he was connected to the slaying in the nearby alley.
Under questioning later, Payne allegedly admitted he killed the woman in his house and dragged her to the nearby alley. He claimed he dropped the child while he was carrying her.
Pattelli said Payne also admitted to hitting and cutting Davis, though those wounds did not appear to be the causes of death. At Payne's house, police also allegedly found blood, as well as items he apparently used to strangle the woman.
Payne's prior murder conviction from a 1987 killing means a judge has only two sentencing options if he is convicted of the Peoria crime - life in prison or death. State's Attorney Kevin Lyons has 120 days to decide whether to seek the death penalty for Payne.
Peoria County Judge Katherine Gorman denied bond for Payne on Friday. Payne has been charged with a single count of first-degree murder.
[...]
Terrell Gaston said his daughter was in stable condition at OSF Saint Francis Medical Center on Friday afternoon, and that he would know more about her recovery after consulting with medical personnel later in the day.
As for his mother, he said he knew she was with God and that the love she gave and received throughout her life would always be remembered.
"My mom was loved by everybody. . . . she was outspoken, but she was loved," Terrell Gaston said. "She treated everybody with kindness."http://www.pjstar.com/news/tricounty/x1773732254/Son-says-his-mother-died-protecting-her-grandchild
Instead, a woman with no enemies - as her children described her Friday - traded her life for that of her granddaughter in a North Valley alley, where Davis' body was found beaten and strangled Thursday morning by a child walking to school.
Lying in a puddle next to Davis with a fractured skull was the infant, 8-month-old Aaliyah Gaston. The baby had spent hours there in intermittent rain and survived.
"She put her life on the line to save my baby," said Terrell Gaston, Davis' son and the father of Aaliyah. "And my mom is going to live through my baby."
Gaston said he believes his mother - whom he described as "on fire for God" - faced an impossible choice Wednesday afternoon and into the early morning hours Thursday: to protect the grandchild she was baby sitting or fend for herself.
Davis had been living with her daughter, Kattrina Gaston, in Lexington Hills Apartments for the last two weeks while in town from Chicago, where her husband still resides, on the job hunt.
She had been baby sitting Wednesday afternoon when she apparently caught a ride to the North Valley with an individual known to Davis as the boyfriend of a friend.
How Davis encountered her alleged killer, Edjuan Payne, remains unclear. A recent parolee, Payne appears to have lived most recently in the Rockford area.
During Payne's first appearance in a Peoria County courtroom on Friday, prosecutors revealed few details of how the two may have met. Assistant State's Attorney Steve Pattelli said during a bond hearing that Davis and Payne had known each other about a week.
The prosecutor also said Payne admitted he killed Davis at his house, 1401 NE Monroe St., then dumped the body and the child in the alley almost directly behind that home.
Police, however, responded to that home on a call from Terrell Gaston nearly two hours before the body was discovered. Peoria police dispatch records indicate officers were called to the home at 5:39 a.m. Thursday, but no one came to the door. Terrell Gaston said he believed his mother and child were inside at the time.
Later in the morning, after Davis' body had been found and police were at the scene, Payne apparently was involved in an altercation that led to his arrest.
Terrell Gaston had arrived at the house with a friend and exited the vehicle to speak to police. Payne came out of the house and asked the driver if he could use a cell phone. When the driver denied that request, Payne allegedly pulled a knife and began slashing a tire on the vehicle.
Police apprehended Payne at gunpoint and found he had a second knife with him, as well as a hammer. At the time of his capture, police apparently did not know he was connected to the slaying in the nearby alley.
Under questioning later, Payne allegedly admitted he killed the woman in his house and dragged her to the nearby alley. He claimed he dropped the child while he was carrying her.
Pattelli said Payne also admitted to hitting and cutting Davis, though those wounds did not appear to be the causes of death. At Payne's house, police also allegedly found blood, as well as items he apparently used to strangle the woman.
Payne's prior murder conviction from a 1987 killing means a judge has only two sentencing options if he is convicted of the Peoria crime - life in prison or death. State's Attorney Kevin Lyons has 120 days to decide whether to seek the death penalty for Payne.
Peoria County Judge Katherine Gorman denied bond for Payne on Friday. Payne has been charged with a single count of first-degree murder.
[...]
Terrell Gaston said his daughter was in stable condition at OSF Saint Francis Medical Center on Friday afternoon, and that he would know more about her recovery after consulting with medical personnel later in the day.
As for his mother, he said he knew she was with God and that the love she gave and received throughout her life would always be remembered.
"My mom was loved by everybody. . . . she was outspoken, but she was loved," Terrell Gaston said. "She treated everybody with kindness."http://www.pjstar.com/news/tricounty/x1773732254/Son-says-his-mother-died-protecting-her-grandchild