A 34-year-old mother was stabbed to death behind a downtown Detroit Chipotle restaurant while on a smoke break during the final 30 minutes of her shift, and her family is now speaking out about the woman they say had turned her life around.
Jaqouya Wix was attacked Sunday afternoon in the alley behind the restaurant. Workers from neighboring businesses rushed to her aid while others chased after the suspect. Police caught up with him a short time later.
7 News Detroit reporter Randy Wimbley has more in the video below:
Sources say police found the knife used in the stabbing inside a bathroom garbage can at One Campus Martius. The suspect is currently being held in a local hospital's mental health wing, according to sources. Public records show he pleaded guilty to criminal sexual conduct in 2010 and assault in 2015, receiving probation in both cases.
Wix's brother and sister, Anthony and Alicya Wix, say the loss still does not feel real.
"It doesn't feel real. There's a lot on my mind and nothing on my mind at the same time, you know?" Anthony Wix said. "It ain't right."
"Never in a million years will we have thought this is what happened," Alicya Wix said.
Alicya said her sister had been working hard to rebuild her life after struggling in the years following the birth of her daughter, Kacya, when Jaqouya was 17. Kacya's father passed away when Kacya was 1 year old.
"Unfortunately Kacya's father passed away when she was one, so she she struggled a bit after that making choices and figuring out how to being an adult and a mother," Alicya Wix said.
Alicya said her sister had been living with her for the past year and had committed herself to being a better mother and employee — riding the bus to work every day regardless of the weather.
"She wasn't on the right path for a while, but I was always there to support her. She's been living with me for the past year, doing what she needs to do as a mom and a person and going to work every day, riding the bus to work faithfully every day, rain, snow, did not matter. The heat wave. She was out there backpacking to downtown Detroit," Alicya Wix said.
The family said Jaqouya's job at Chipotle was a milestone they were proud of.
"She didn't deserve this. She was doing so good in life, she's doing so good. We're so proud of her. It was the longest job she ever held," Alicya Wix said.
Anthony Wix said the abruptness of his sister's death makes it all the more painful.
"So abruptly. It's heartbreaking," he said.
Despite his grief, Anthony Wix said he does not harbor hatred toward the suspect.
"I don't hate the man, but I sure as hell don't appreciate what he did," Anthony Wix said.
The family wants the suspect prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. The suspect could be arraigned as early as Tuesday.
In the meantime, Wix's family has set up an online fundraising campaign to support her daughter.
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