SOUTH MIAMI-DADE, FLA. (WSVN) - A grieving South Florida community came together to pay tribute to a pregnant mother who, police said, was killed by her boyfriend.
Andreae Lloyd’s family and friends gathered on Monday in South Miami-Dade to celebrate her life on what would have been her 28th birthday.
7News cameras captured the moment loved ones released pink balloons in honor of the mother of two, Monday afternoon.
“We love you, baby. Happy heavenly birthday,” said a mourner.
“We are one. We are unified, and we will have the key, being strong, being the strong family that she would want us to be,” said Gajuanza Mitchell, Lloyd’s nephew.
“I can’t tell you that it’s easy, but I do pray that we get through this,” said Manuel Lloyd, her uncle.
According to Miami-Dade Police, the victim’s boyfriend, Xavier Johnson, showed up to her work as a caretaker at a group home in Southwest Miami-Dade on Tuesday, beat her up, kidnapped her and killed her.
Lloyd’s family said she wasn’t even supposed to be working that day.
Officers found her remains in a remote area in South Miami-Dade after, detectives said, her family followed Johnson and called 911. They told the dispatcher that Johnson was acting strange.
This is the same place where they met up on Monday to honor her memory.
“All of y’all know that we are a loving family, and that was my baby. That was my heart,” said Arnold Lloyd, the victim’s father.
“She was a loving and caring person. She always put her family before anything else,” said Mitchell.
“I feel like we didn’t do a good job as a community to actually bring her home,” said a mourner at the event.
“We just appreciate each and every one of you for supporting us, for showing us love during this time, because that’s what we need,” said Alfreda Lyons, the victim’s godmother.
Loved ones said Lloyd, who was expecting her third child, will be missed tremendously and remembered for so many good qualities.
“She always checked on Daddy,” said her father.
“My niece was a very gentle person. My niece was a person that you could come to and tease and talk to her, and if she was mad, you wouldn’t even know it,” said her uncle. “My niece gave, and she gave unconditionally.”
“It breaks my heart to know that she is no longer here with us, and her two boys have to grow up without a mother,” said Mitchell.
Police said Johnson confessed to detectives that he had killed his girlfriend.
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