Vigil held for Sumter woman killed in domestic violence incident
SUMTER, SC (WIS) - Family and friends of a Sumter woman came together to celebrate her life and the impact she had on others during a vigil Tuesday night.
Lois Smith, 31, was found dead in her apartment last Wednesday with her 2-year-old son in the home. Sumter Police later arrested 50-year-old Alonzo Shaw, the baby's father, for her murder.
Smith's family called her death senseless and an act of deadly domestic violence.
"What happened to my sister shouldn't have happened," Gwendolynn Johnson, Smith's sister, said. "It doesn't matter what she did."
A crowd of nearly 100 people lit candles, prayed and released balloons outside Smith's apartment during the vigil. Many were visibly upset, reminiscing about the good memories they shared with her.
"We hit it off right away," Leonard Brantley, Smith's co-worker, said. "She was always nice and loud talking and if she wasn't that way, she wasn't herself."
"She'll do for anybody before she [did] for herself," Johnson said. "She was outspoken, kind of timid, a fighter and my protector and everybody else's protector."
Smith is survived by her 2-year-old son who will be well taken care of, according to her family.
"He looks just like her," Johnson said. "It doesn't seem real until I wake up to my nephew every day. In honor of my sister, we're going to raise him straight."
Funeral services for Smith will take place Wednesday in Sumter.
Sumter Police have not released an official cause of death. However preliminary information indicates Smith was shot.
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