A Houston woman killed in her home last week may have been beaten to death in front of her youngest daughter. Now, supporters are rallying to the aid of her two girls, ages 10 and 4.
Amanda Baird, 33, was found dead at her home on June 2, her birthday, according to police. She died from blunt force trauma. On a day that should have been a celebration, friends and family were in mourning.
Baird's family says she didn't have life insurance or savings to leave for her daughters, so they set up a GoFundMe campaign on June 6 to help the girls and cover the cost of the funeral, which took place on Saturday.
"A deafening silence is all that remains of her... happy, energetic, light hearted, sometimes mischievous, beautiful laugh, that followed wherever Amanda went. Amanda had a good soul," family member Rebecca Bateman wrote on the campaign's homepage.
More than $1,900 had been donated by Monday afternoon. But family and friends remain concerned about the deceased woman's daughters, especially her 4-year-old.
"I found the baby. The baby is the one who opened the door and let me in," T.K. King, Baird's roommate, told CBS affiliate KHOU. "I'm so worried about the baby at this point, because of what she went through and what she saw."
Ronnie Bateman, Baird's stepfather, said the child was found crying over her mother's body.
"She kept saying, 'My momma's dead. My momma's dead.'" Bateman told local station KPRC.
Baird's family members believe her death came at the hands of her estranged boyfriend. Houston police have not named a suspect in the killing and did not return a request for comment from The Huffington Post.
Witnesses told police that Baird's on-again, off-again boyfriend was at her home the night before she was found dead. Friends say the couple had argued, and that the fight had escalated and become physical.
Jennifer Lester, Baird's friend, told KHOU that the victim sent her a text that night saying that her boyfriend had hit her.
"I actually was fearing the worst. I told her last night come to my house," Lester said.
Bateman says the couple's relationship was complicated.
"They would break up, get back together, break up and get back together. She tried to break up with him, but he didn't want to break up with her," Bateman told KPRC.
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