Concert benefits family of fire victims

YOUNGSTOWN — Gwendolyn McCall recalled how her great-granddaughter Ranaisha Crawford, 8, loved music and dancing for her on occasion.

“If she were here, she’d really be enjoying this concert,” McCall said, referring to Tuesday’s four-hour musical event at the Chevrolet Centre, set up to raise funds for the Crawford and McQueen families.

Ranaisha was the type of child who would unselfishly give her siblings a gift someone gave her, recalled McCall, a nurse's aide at Boardman Community Care Center. Ranaisha also loved her younger brother and sisters, she added.

Josephine McQueen-North, the grandmother of Jeannine Crawford, 5, Aleisha Crawford, 3, and Brandon Owens, 2, said she was grateful for the fundraiser, sponsored by the Stopping the Violence committee and Maynstream Productions. The community also has been generous to both families over the last several weeks, she added.

The four children, as well as their mother, Jennifer Crawford, 23, and grandmother Carol Crawford, 46, were killed in an arson sometime after 5 a.m. Jan. 23 when an accelerant was ignited on the porch of their home at 1645 Stewart Ave. on the city's East Side. Michael A. Davis, 18, of 817 Bennington Ave., is charged with six counts of aggravated murder as part of a 29-count indictment.

For more, see Wednesday’s Vindicator and Vindy.com