ST. LANDRY PARISH — It was a bittersweet day in Opelousas as family and friends gathered Monday to honor the memory of 18-year-old Mareya Henry with a balloon release.
Mareya was shot and killed on Oct. 12 at her home in St. Landry Parish, according to her mother, Kellie Henry, who spoke publicly about the tragedy for the first time.
“I wake up angry, a lot,” she said. “I think that dating violence and domestic violence are so normalized.”
Henry said she had been out of town for a book signing in Dallas when the shooting occurred.
“I did ask her to come, but she wasn’t too excited," Henry said. "She and I lived together, alone, and so I actually arrived on the scene probably ten minutes or less after it actually happened.”
Henry said the shooting happened in the kitchen of their home on Hashim Street.
“And because of the situation with the abuse occurring, I felt like I already knew who it was,” she said.
Two days later, Opelousas police reported that the suspect — Mareya’s girlfriend, Kera Vitatoe — had turned herself in to authorities in Lake Charles. She is being accused of committing second-degree murder, and two counts of attempted second-degree murder.
At the balloon release Monday, Mareya’s friends remembered her as a joyful and loving person.
“No matter what’s happening around y’all, she was going to forever keep a smile on your face,” Mareya's friend, Asia, said. “You just had the best time of your life when you were with her—I miss my friend.”
“She was a sweet person, and a lot of people portray her as a bad person,” her friend Khloe said. “But she was the most wonderful person ever.”
Since her daughter’s death, Henry has focused on raising awareness about dating and domestic violence.
“We can’t turn our backs on people when they’re going through this situation,” she said. “We can’t say, ‘I’m not going to talk to you anymore.’ If you do that, they need you to be there.”
Anyone with information is asked to contact the Opelousas Police Department at (337) 948-2500 or St. Landry Crime Stoppers at (337) 948-TIPS (8477). All calls will remain anonymous, and tips leading to an arrest may be eligible for a cash reward.
