Arizona Teen Killed in San Diego Domestic Shooting; Baby Survives

​SAN DIEGO — What was supposed to be a peaceful family vacation turned into a horrific scene of domestic violence early Saturday morning when a heavily pregnant 17-year-old Arizona girl was shot and killed outside a Southern California rental home.

​Jariah Edwards, a Phoenix resident who was 32 weeks pregnant, was killed after being shot in the head outside a vacation rental on Gardena Avenue in San Diego’s Bay Park neighborhood. Following the shooting, doctors successfully delivered her baby girl via an emergency C-section. The newborn remains in critical condition in a hospital intensive care unit.

​San Diego Police have arrested her 21-year-old ex-boyfriend, Trevon Williams, also of Phoenix. Investigators reveal that Williams allegedly drove hundreds of miles from Arizona to California, tracking Edwards to the rental home. Authorities responded to the scene just after 1:00 a.m. on Saturday, finding Edwards with a catastrophic gunshot wound. Williams fled into a nearby canyon shortly after the shooting, where police tracked him down and took him into custody.

​Jail records show Williams is being held without bail on multiple charges, including murder and attempted murder. He is scheduled to make his first court appearance on Wednesday.

​A ‘Pure Soul’ Remembered

​In the wake of the tragedy, heartbroken friends and family members are struggling to come to terms with the loss of a teenager they described as vibrant, kind-hearted, and funny.

​”Honestly, when I first found out, that was just the most heartbreaking thing to ever hear,” longtime friend Amara Corley told KNXV. “It’s just sad. She didn’t deserve this. Nobody should experience this at such a young age.”

​Corley and her sister, Jamila, described Edwards as an energetic teen with a sarcastic sense of humor who could always make people laugh. They noted that Edwards had been actively trying to leave the relationship and was deeply excited about her impending motherhood.

​”He was literally a monster, and he ran into somebody with a pure soul,” Jamila Corley said. “There’s nothing she could have done that made him act like this.”

​Edwards’ aunt echoed those sentiments, telling local reporters that the 17-year-old “was genuinely one of the sweetest people” and was just beginning to find her footing in life. “She recently just started growing into herself and becoming who she’s supposed to be,” she said.

​An ‘Entirely Preventable’ Tragedy

​Domestic violence advocates point to the case as a grim reminder of the compounding dangers victims face when trying to end abusive relationships.

ADVERTISEMENT

​”That’s the most heartbreaking part about it,” said Tanner Swanson of the community advocacy group A New Leaf. “It’s entirely preventable. Every single instance of domestic violence is preventable.”

​For Edwards’ loved ones, focus has now shifted toward the surviving infant—the only remaining piece of the young mother.

​”That’s the last part we have of her, while he still gets to be alive in jail,” Jamila Corley said.

​An online fundraising campaign has been launched by family and friends to cover Edwards’ impending funeral expenses and to provide long-term financial support for her hospitalized newborn daughter.