Bronx mother marks 1 year since daughter’s killing as trial still has not started
Kristen Abad says the loss of her daughter, Evette Jeffery, has left an emptiness inside her family’s home that has not healed since the May 12, 2025, shooting outside Bronx Latin High School.
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A Bronx mother is marking one year without her 16-year-old daughter, who was shot and killed outside a Morrisania school. The anniversary comes as the criminal trial against the teens accused in the case has still not begun.
Kristen Abad says the loss of her daughter, Evette Jeffery, has left an emptiness inside her family’s home that has not healed since the May 12, 2025, shooting outside Bronx Latin High School.
“It was so full of life before… our house. Now it’s empty,” Abad said.
Police say Jeffery was riding a scooter near a fight involving multiple teenagers when a 14-year-old boy and his 13-year-old alleged accomplice opened fire toward a group of students. Investigators say Jeffery, who was not the intended target, was struck three times in the head and killed.
Now, one year later, her family says they are still waiting for justice as the case moves through the court system.
“I have to look at her pictures and that’s all I see of her now… just her in a coffin. That’s the last picture we have of her,” Abad said.
During a vigil Tuesday night outside the schoolyard where the shooting happened, family members, activists and community supporters released balloons and called for an end to teenage gang violence in the Bronx.
Loved ones are also pushing for the street to be renamed in Jeffery’s honor and for a mural to be painted in remembrance of the teenager.
“I need justice… I need some help,” Jeffery’s aunt said during the gathering.
Both boys charged in the case are facing murder, manslaughter and weapons charges.
Still, Abad says no court outcome will ever replace the daughter she lost.
“We never gonna see her again… never hug her. There’s no more milestones for her,” she said.
