SUFFOLK, Va. (WAVY) — A woman who was shot and killed in Suffolk earlier this week knew the person alleged to have killed her, family and police confirmed.
Jackquelyn Stevenson, who died Tuesday morning on Mill Lake Road, worked with Antonio Newsome at shopping network QVC in Suffolk.
They were on a break and went to a parking area on Mill Lake Road, and after the shooting, Suffolk Police said Newsome then returned to work at QVC, where police would later arrest him.
10 On Your Side spoke with Stevenson’s sister, her cousin and a very close family friend, who did not want to give their last names. The family gave us a picture of Stevenson, who stood next to her sister, Bobby. Everyone in the picture was smiling.
“Jackie was, you know, a good, kind, loving person,” her sister said. “She helped everybody. She was the best hair-braider. … She was a great big sister. Jackie’s my best friend. I have so many great memories.”
Family members did not know Newsome, now charged with second-degree murder.
K.J. is a close family friend who met Stevenson’s mother many years ago while both were in the military. K.J.’s message to Newsome:
“Only God can take life,” K.J. said, “and other human beings and whomever the person that you had mentioned, he deserves to get whatever he deserves to get on. God will take care of that.”
The family wants you to know they are close knit, with Jackquelyn the glue that kept the family together.
“She always took care of her sisters and her nieces and nephews,” XX said. “She loved them. She was just full of love, like it’s really sad to even imagine.”
Love of family and a hard worker.
Stevenson’s cousin, Tomika, also joined the conversation. She was emotional, and full of expressing love for her lost cousin.
“So, she was always that hard-working person,” Tomika said. “Always hard-working person. Every time you called, and I would talk to her mom, [it was] like, Where’s Jackie? Jackie’s at work. She’s a workaholic.”
She also made a mean cookie, too.
“Everybody in the family didn’t want anybody else’s cookies because she made Christmas cookies and we all looked forward to them,” Tomika said. “We had to wait till Christmas.”
And who can tell the story of the 29-year-old Jackquelyn Stevenson without talking about “Junior,” her teddy bear she’s had since she was 15.
All three pitched in comments about this as one line of thought.
“A birthday for him every Valentine’s Day … and she actually had a birthday party for him every year on Valentine’s Day since she was little. And she actually celebrated with him. So, we’ll continue to celebrate him on Feb. 14th and have a party. Yeah. And she did that. And she was right. It’s been over 15 years. She’s had that same bear. Yeah. Every birthday. She has not missed.
Her close friend, K.J., added this message to the public.
“The message that the family would like to get out — one, Jackie was a sibling, a daughter who was creative, beautiful, loving and caring and did so much for her family,” K.J. said. “And regardless of what is put out in the media, no one deserves to have their life cut short. Only God is to take life and other human beings and whomever the person that you had mentioned, he deserves to get whatever he deserves to get. God will take care of that.”
A GoFundMe has been established to help support Jackquelyn Stevenson’s family with funeral and other costs.