‘I just want to know why;’ Friends of 2 women killed in Dayton shooting say they want answers

DAYTON — Friends of two women who were shot and killed Sunday morning in Dayton are speaking out.

Dayton Police were dispatched to the Shell gas station at the intersection of North Gettysburg Avenue and West Third Street shortly before 5 a.m.

When police arrived on scene, they found Felicia Brown, 38, and Michaela Daniels, 44, shot inside of a black Suburban.

On Wednesday, friends of the two women told News Center 7 that 32-year-old Deante Holden, the man police accuse of firing the fatal shots, was a close friend of the victims.

“We did know the person that did it, we’d actually been talking to him and hanging out a lot,” said Antonia Reynolds, who was friends with both Brown and Daniels for years.

Reynolds is in shock that her two best friends are dead.

“I just want to know why because from what I know, he’s not that kind of person,” she said.

Ebony Storehalder, who was also friends with Brown and Daniels, is still trying to comprehend what happened as well.

“It’s crazy to me that the one person she continuously vouched for, and said she wished more men were like, is the one that took her out,” Storehalder said.

Storehalder, along with Reynolds, were part of a four person friend group with the two victims.

The women were together as much as possible, but not Saturday night into Sunday morning.

This time, Reynolds and Daniels went out and were eventually with Holden.

Police got a call at 5 a.m. Sunday and discovered the two women shot in their vehicle at the gas pumps.

“I just broke down and was asking what happened,” Storehalder said.

“I just cried, I just called her name and I cried,” Reynolds said.

The friends told News Center 7 their hearts are breaking for the loss of their friends in what police call a “brutal” murder.

Holden is accused of shooting them as he stepped out of the vehicle’s back seat and then walking away.

The survivors’ hearts are also angry about the delayed emergency response.

“No one helped them. And that bothers me a lot,” Reynolds said.

Prosecutors have not yet approved charges against Holden.

He is currently booked in the Montgomery County Jail on suspicion of murder and tampering with evidence after police told News Center 7 he met a friend back at the scene three hours after the gunfire to possibly try to erase evidence.

Anyone with information is asked to contact Dayton Police at (937)-333-COPS (2677).

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