Family, friends hold vigil for 19-year-old mother found shot in Kansas City
Nineteen-year-old Breana Robison, a Kansas City mother of one, was “a light” in the lives of the people who were close to her.
That’s what her family members said as they gathered at Barry Road Park in the Northland Wednesday night, wearing Robison’s favorite color, purple, to show support and celebrate her life.
It was cut short on June 28, they said, when Robison was found shot inside a Kansas City home.
While no arrests have been announced since the killing, relatives and friends are demanding justice for the young mother who took care of her 3-year-old son, Zaydin.
Robert and Melissa Panos, Robison’s grandparents, said their granddaughter loved animals and was interested in styling hair and doing makeup.
“She was so much fun. We had a blast. ... She would teach me how to do the latest dances,” said Melissa Panos. “Loved to put on makeup. Loved selfies. She just loved all that fun stuff.”
As a young parent, Robison was trying her best to raise her son and was working toward getting her GED. But around the time of her death, Robert Panos said his granddaughter had been “mixed up with the wrong crowd” and was supposed to go to rehab after battling drug addiction.
Rob Panos, Robison’s uncle, says he talked to his niece often through video chat from his home in New York City. She liked to talk about “everything,” he said: boys, food, cooking, her aspirations, her son. She wanted to stay away from trouble and “get on the right road,” he said.
Robison “wound up in the hands of the wrong people,” he added, but he’s confident police will solve his niece’s case.
“We just want justice for Breana,” Rob Panos said. “She was way too young, and now we have her son to take care of.”
Family members have set up a GoFundMe page to help cover funeral expenses and provide for Robison’s son, who will be turning 4 later this month. More than $6,200 has been raised.
The killing is still under investigation by Kansas City police. No suspect information has been released but police announced Tuesday they were looking to question two people of interest, including a teenager.
Robison’s relatives and friends are urging anyone with information to call the Kansas City Police Department Homicide Unit at 816-234-5043 or the TIPS Hotline at 816-474-8477.
“She was a really good girl who just started reading the wrong chapter of the wrong book. ... Just one chapter and it closed on her. That’s not who she was,” Rob Panos said. “I just want justice for my niece.”
This story was originally published July 3, 2019 at 11:57 PM.
