CHICAGO _ Charges were announced late Sunday in connection with the fatal shooting of a 19-year-old Michigan State University student who was shot and killed in a Chicago apartment while home for winter break.
Lafayette Hodges, 18, was charged with one felony count of involuntary manslaughter in connection with the death of Lyniah Bell, according to Chicago police.
Bell, of the Lawndale neighborhood, was shot in the head in an apparent domestic incident about 9:50 p.m. Friday while in the bedroom of an apartment in the 8100 block of South Maryland Avenue in the South Side's East Chatham neighborhood, according to information from police and the Cook County medical examiner's office.
A witness told officers they heard a gunshot while the woman was in the bedroom, police said. The witness then found Bell with a wound to the head. The medical examiner's office ruled the death a homicide.
Hodges turned himself into police shortly after 4 a.m. on Saturday, according to police, and was taken into custody. Officials said the decision to charge him with involuntary manslaughter was made in consultation with the state's attorney's office after a review of evidence and Hodges' statement to investigators.
Bell ended up going to Michigan State on an academic scholarship and was planning to major in business and journalism, said Bell's cousin, Sam Brown.
"She loved it," Brown said. "Sometimes it felt as if she's at home there and she was visiting us."
Brown said Bell was a "quiet but outspoken" woman who always knew how to motivate herself. At MSU, she approached every course with curiosity and dedication. Bell leaves behind a 13-year-old brother who was her best friend, Brown said.
In a statement posted to its Facebook page, North Lawndale College Prep, a charter school on the city's West Side, said Bell was a 2019 graduate of the school and the school community was devastated to learn of Bell's death.
Bell was a Phoenix Pact scholar, a National Honor Society inductee and a participant of the theater club, according to the post. The school will be offering counseling for students.
"We just can't say enough good about the positive impact she had on the school community. She will be missed dearly, and our hearts grieve alongside her mother and family," the statement read.
