‘There’s an empty space;’ Mother, grandmother of woman, child killed in Dayton looking for answers

DAYTON — The mother of a 31-year-old woman shot and killed in the basement of a home she shared with her boyfriend wants answers.

About 11 a.m. Thursday, police were dispatched to the 300 block of Burleigh Avenue on a call from a woman asking police to check on a person who lives in the home, dispatch records indicate.

Once officers arrived, they found a mother and daughter, identified Wednesday as Aisha Nelson, 31, and Harper Monroe, 6, both of Dayton, dead in the basement. They had been shot.

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News Center 7′s Mike Campbell spoke with Aisha’s mother, Monroe’s grandmother, Wednesday and she said she is still looking for answers.

“I want you to know, she loved her baby and she did not deserve this to happen,” Keeley Nelson said. “She did not deserve this.”

Dayton Police previously told News Center 7 that officers responded to the home earlier on Thursday, around midnight, on reports of a domestic dispute that according to police was over a Play Station 5.

“No arrests were made, the officers cleared the call after about an hour and left the scene,” Maj. Brian Johns, Dayton Police, said.

Police believed the homicide occurred sometime between 3 and 4 a.m., only a few hours after the officers cleared the scene. Keeley told News Center 7 that she believes the police are partly responsible.

“It was just a dispute and I know it was a domestic dispute, and party should have been arrested,” Keeley said.

Dayton Police said officers spoke with both people in the home and a report was not filed.

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Police didn’t go back to the house until a neighbor asked them to check on the people inside because they were not answering.

Police were investigating Waverly Dante Rashad Hawes, 32, as the suspect. Hawes was identified as Aisha’s boyfriend for more than a year.

Sometime Thursday, Hawes was found dead in Falkville, Alabama, suffering from what appeared to be a self-inflicted gunshot wound, Morgan County Coroner Jeff Chunn told The Decatur Daily in Falkville. Police in Falkville and Morgan County sheriff’s deputies located Hawes and his vehicle, through pings to his mobile phone GPS, the newspaper reported.

On Wednesday, Keeley said she can hardly describe the loss she feels.

“Right now, I wouldn’t want an enemy or the devil to feel this feeling because there’s an empty space,” she said.

Dayton police are continuing their investigation and are reviewing the actions of the officers that responded to the initial call that night.

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