A 25-year-old was shot and killed while picking up her 1-year-old son from the babysitter. The teenager linked to the shooting has been arrested.
Beverly Lambert was shot twice in the back of the head in Morris, a city in Illinois. After she was killed, the suspect allegedly stole her vehicle, fleeing the scene.
A 16-year-old was arrested in connection to the shooting and charged with six counts of six-degree murder. The suspect is being tried as an adult due to his criminal background.
He’s been identified as Cortez Rice.
Jason Helland, Grundy County State’s Attorney, confirmed in a press conference that Rice was in the area at the time of the shooting and asked people for rides before allegedly stealing the victim’s car to flee. It is unclear if he asked Lambert for a ride before he shot her.
“The shock value of something happening to a 25-year-old woman in Grundy County is that it not only impacts the victim’s family, it impacts the entire community,” Heland said.
A GoFundMe to help Lambert’s family and her young son has been started. She graduated from Tennessee State University in 2019.
A close friend of Lambert’s described her as “focused.” “She was always focused on advancing herself, and now that she has a son, she wanted a better life for him.”
The investigation is ongoing, and Rice is being held on a $5 million bond. He is expected to court on August 18.
