WEST PALM BEACH, FLA. (WSVN) - A South Florida family is making a plea to the public for help in finding the shooter who killed their mother.
In the early hours of June 29, Palm Beach County Sheriff’s deputies said Makeva Jenkins was at her Lake Worth home when she was shot by a masked gunman. The 33-year-old’s three children and two other relatives were inside, and family members believe that this all stemmed from something the victim posted on Facebook.
On Wednesday, Jenkins’ family continued their plea for help in finding the gunman. “We don’t know what happened,” said Jenkins’ grandmother, Gloria Harold. “We don’t know how that came about, but I do know her life shouldn’t have been cut that short, especially with her kids. She’s been taken away from us, taken away from her children, so, again, I’m asking the public, the community, anybody in-state or out-of-state, know of anything that might lead to the arrest of the people involved in this. That’s all we’re asking. We need closure.”
Jenkins had a business that coached people on how to become successful entrepreneurs. Her Facebook claimed that she’d become successful. In one post she wrote, “I don’t even try to count my blessings. There are too many.”
“She wanted the public to know that if she could come from one point to the next point, everybody else could do that also,” Harold said.
The night of the fatal shooting, Jenkins posted another motivational post that talked about how she overcame homelessness. “We overcame being homeless in 2013/2014 to reaching my six figure mark in 2015 to now making multi six figures.”
Around 2 a.m., a masked man knocked on her front door along Plumbago Place and Spider Lily Lane in Lake Worth. When Jenkins answered the door, the gunman allegedly made three adults lie face down, including Jenkins and her husband. After some kind of altercation, Jenkins was shot in the head.
Detectives said the gunman took off in one of the family’s vehicles, a white Dodge Charger. It was dumped a short distance from the scene.
Yuri, the victim’s husband, could be seen crying at the scene, but is no longer in contact with Makeva’s family, they said. “We have no idea about her husband or where he is,” Harold said.
He showed up to the family’s plea for help with two of their three small children. Harold said she hadn’t seen the children in months.
Though the widower did not want to talk, Yuri’s brother, Joel Simmons, said the couple loved each other deeply. “Makeva is a beautiful, beautiful, beautiful woman, and he and Yuri were deeply in love, ” he said. “That’s really their entire story. The rest of it is some maniac out there that did what they did.”
If you have any information on this fatal shooting, call Palm Beach Crime Stoppers at 1-800-458-TIPS. Remember, you can always remain anonymous, and you may be eligible for a reward.
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