A gunman is on the run after shooting a mother and her 11-year-old daughter Thursday night.
West Palm Beach Police, U.S. Marshals Service and other agencies are searching for Marlin Joseph, 26, for the double murder of Kaladaa Crowell and Kyra Inglet.
The shooting occurred on the 800 block of 3rd Street just at about 7:13 p.m. Thursday. Marshals say Joseph lived in the home. He moved in about 10 months ago after serving time for battery on a child.
Joseph was last seen at 5:37 a.m. Friday withdrawing money from a bank near Military Trail and Community Drive. Police describe him as 5' 10" and 180 pounds. He also has multiple tattoos on his face, including a cross between the eyes.
Police said they believe the shooting stemmed from a domestic dispute. They are still working to determine what might have caused that dispute to escalate.
Joseph took Crowell's vehicle after the murders, according to police. Her car is described as a gray 2012 Toyota Camry with a Florida Bethune-Cookman specialty license plate BA0MJ.
"You just have to be a coward to shoot a person and walk away," said Patrick James, Crowell's great uncle. "She was just a sweet person. She'd go out of her way to help a person. So I think that's what happened here," said James.
Neighbors said they heard at least 6 gunshots coming from the home Thursday evening. Al Blount says he saw Kyra lying in the front yard. "I saw the girl laying right there on the sidewalk. So, I headed over there and the lady said don't come over here." That lady, Blount said, was suspect Marvin Joseph's mother.
Blount said he had seen Kyra just hours before the shooting. He gave her ice cream and said she was always riding her bike. "She was so nice."
Crowell worked with the mentally ill at Jerome Golden for 6 years. Her boss, Dr. Suresh Rajpara called her incredible. He said she went above and beyond to help, once creating a 6-week program so patients could learn Creole and often getting jobs for clients. "They were looking to her as their mother and for many of them she was a mother figure."
11-year-old Kyra Inglet was helpful like her mother.
"I remember reading a book, "when bad things happen to good people." And I believe this is a good example of it," said Jack 'the Bike Man' Hairston.
Kyra was part of his after-school volunteer program. She worked on bikes that would later be donated.
"She worked hard, very hard and got her bike going and when she learned something, she'd help the other kids," said Hairston. He said one time, on a bike ride, she looked so happy, as if she was flying.
The mother and daughter belonged to Christ Fellowship. Pastors Todd and Julie Mullins released a statement that said in part, "The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit."
West Palm police say they got multiple 911 calls from people in the area who heard the gunfire. Officers arrived at the home and said they found the 11-year-old girl on the front porch, and her mother deceased inside the home. Kyra Inglett, went into surgery Thursday evening and later died.
Her young friends left flowers on the sidewalk for her Thursday evening.
The Florida Department of Children and Families has an open investigation into the case and is coordinating with law enforcement, according to a spokesperson for DCF. There was no prior child welfare involvement with the two.
Investigators with the WPBPD currently hold an active arrest warrant for Joseph for two counts of first-degree murder with a firearm.
Anyone with information about the murders or the whereabouts of Marlin Joseph is urged to call
the West Palm Beach Police Department at 561-822-1900 or Palm Beach County Crime Stoppers at 1-800-458-8477.