Crime & Public Safety
Crime & Public Safety

Funeral Saturday for 14-year-old girl stabbed in Decatur apartment

Shykia Ward Reese was an 8th grader at Renfroe Middle School in Decatur.

Credit: Family photo

Credit: Family photo

Shykia Ward Reese was an 8th grader at Renfroe Middle School in Decatur.
By
March 30, 2018

The funeral will be held Saturday for the 14-year-old Decatur girl that police believe was stabbed to death by her uncle.

Shykia Ward-Reese and her mother’s boyfriend, Manuel De Jesus Franco, were found stabbed to death Sunday morning at the Trinity Walk Apartments, according to Decatur police. The following day, Royce Alex Stewart was arrested and charged with two counts of murder. Stewart and Shykia’s mother are siblings, according to police.

A Go Fund Me page raised more than $25,000 for Shykia’s funeral and other expenses. Those planning to attend the funeral are asked to meet at 10 a.m. Saturday at Renfroe Middle School, where Shykia was in the 8th grade. The funeral will follow at Hands of The Lord International on Austin Drive in Decatur. After the funeral, a repast will be held at 3 p.m. at Renfroe Middle.

Shykia is survived by her mother, who was in the apartment at the time of the stabbings, and a 7-year-old sister.

Shykia Ward-Reese was stabbed to death inside her Decatur apartment on Sunday.

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