43
Group remembers slain teenager at flag-raising
One of Ja-Brajasia Green’s teachers described the 13-year-old as a ‘light in the world.’
WARREN — With tears in her eyes and emotion in her words, Pastor Sylvia Jennings described Ja-Brajasia Green as a wonderful child with a beautiful voice.
She spoke to a small group of Children’s-Services and law- enforcement workers, clergy and teachers from Liberty’s William S. Guy Middle School who met Tuesday afternoon in front of the Trumbull County Sheriff’s Office. There, they raised the victims flag in honor of the 13-year-old from the township who was killed with her mother, Wilneice Green, 28, Nov. 15 at their residence, 3022 Northgate Drive.
The police investigation continues.
The ceremony was led by Miriam Fife, an advocate in the Victims/Witness Division of the Trumbull County Prosecutor’s Office.
Pastor Jennings, minister at Oak Missionary Baptist Church in Youngstown, said Ja-Brajasia was in the youth choir and served on the usher board and hospitality committee. The pastor said she teased Ja-Brajasia, and called her a “young Beyonc .”
“I told her that God had blessed her with a beautiful voice. Her face would light up,” Pastor Jennings said. “And I had anticipated her growing up in the church.
“Now, she is singing in an angelic choir.”
Pastor Jennings said the Green family attended church on the day that ended in tragedy. “They called for a ride because they didn’t have a car,” she said. “She had a giving heart and giving spirit,” Pastor Jennings said of Wilneice Green, the mother of five. The pastor said Wilneice Green often babysat children of others at her home. “This woman who had nothing gave what she had.”
The pastor also noted that Wilneice Green had a “prayer spot” in her home, where she thanked God for what she had. “Our hearts are broken,” Pastor Jennings said of the loss of the mother and daughter who were part of the church family.
Colleen Neff, an intervention teacher at William S. Guy, was among five teachers and an assistant principal attending the ceremony. “She was a hard worker and had a wonderful sense of humor,” Neff said of her student.
“Some students you teach, others you have a relationship with ... that was Ja-Brajasia,” Neff said. “There is a big black hole without her,” Neff said. “She was a light in the world.”
Neff said the teachers wanted to attend the ceremony “to show respect to her as a student and person.”
Fife said the flag-raising ceremony reminds people that another “young life has been lost to violence”
Also offering prayer was the Rev. Wayne Truss, assistant minister at New Freedom Baptist Church. “Bless the family and pastor who come together in prayer,” he said.
ARRANGEMENTS
The L.E. Black and Phillips and Holden Funeral Home, 1951 McGuffey Road, Youngstown, is handling arrangements for the funeral of Wilneice Green and her daughter, Ja-Brajasia, scheduled for 11 a.m. Monday at the home.
Liberty Township and schools are collecting food for Thanksgiving and Christmas to help the family of the double homicide victims, who lived at 3022 Northgate Drive. Donations may be dropped off at the township administration building, 1315 Church Hill-Hubbard Road.
Monetary donations, which may be made to the Green family account, are being accepted at PNC banks and the account number is 1030772591. Funds are needed to pay for funeral expenses.
Christmas gifts for girls, 12 years old and 10 months, and boys, 8 and 2 years old, also are being sought.
A victims’ flag-raising ceremony for students at William S. Guy School may take place Tuesday. Ja-Brajasia was an eighth-grader there and sang in the choir.