A conflict between two women over a man reportedly sparked a 20 person-brawl at an Illinois park last Thursday that left another woman dead and a teen boy injured.
According to the Peoria Journal Star, Charee Alexander, 19, died Friday after suffering a neck wound at Schmoeger Park during a melee which stemmed from two women fighting over a boyfriend. The suspect accused of killing Alexander and stabbing a teen boy, Jatara Johnson, 29, wasn’t one of the two women involved in the love triangle.
Alexander’s mother told the outlet that her daughter was a bystander who went to the park to support her sister with an undisclosed issue she was having with another woman. It remains unclear whether the slain woman’s sister was one of the women involved in the initial dispute.
Police said they received multiple calls Thursday regarding several fights at the park which were spilling out into the streets and nearby yards. Responding officers had reportedly stopped a vehicle which contained a mortally-wounded Alexander, who was bleeding profusely from the neck when she was rushed to the hospital. Meanwhile, a teen boy who was also injured Thursday was reportedly treated for non-life threatening injuries.
The Journal News reported that Alexander was taken off life support the following day, with WEEK reporting that her organs were donated. Posts from a Facebook account which appears to belong to the late teen suggest she’s a mother to a baby girl.
Johnson turned herself in Tuesday afternoon and was indicted for first-degree murder and aggravated battery. Bond was set at $1.5 million.
Several online posts have speculated that Profoundly.me, a Facebook game which allows users to anonymously share thoughts to their friends, played a role in Thursday’s deadly fight. However, Peoria police spokeswoman Amy Dotson told the outlet it is unclear whether the app was connected to the deadly altercation, noting that the two women had two prior face-to-face interactions that didn’t turn violent.
Dotson said the two women brought a total of about 20 people for backup that day and that the melee started when the two women got physical.
“It looks like they intended to fight,” she said.
[Featured image: Charee Alexander/Facebook]