The family of Alana Sims, the Florida mother found dead next to her SUV, is asking who would want to harm such a positive person.
Law enforcement says the young woman was targeted, opening up more questions than they have answers.
On Monday, Jan. 30, around 10 p.m., Sims’ lifeless body was discovered by a passerby lying beside her vehicle as it was parked on a street near the Easton Park Subdivision in New Tampa. The single mother’s only child was safe, sleeping inside the Ford EcoSport where his mother was found. The 22-year-old’s family said the neighborhood is not familiar to them, and they are curious why she would have been in the area, according to WTSP 10.
Tampa police believe foul play led to her death, telling the family evidence suggests she was killed by someone who knew her and that she had been dead for a while before being discovered.
Crystal Clark, a spokesperson for the Tampa Police Department, said, “At this point, we’re saying her injuries are upper body trauma. I can tell you when she was laying on the ground, it appeared she had been deceased for a bit of time.”
“This is a complete tragedy,” Clark said according to FOX News. “You have a child now who’s without a mother because someone took her life while the child was sitting right there in the car behind her as it happened.”
“We don’t believe it was random and we’re following up on a lot of leads right now,” interim Police Chief Lee Bercaw said. “The offense in itself is gut-wrenching, and I feel for the family and the community and even the officers who go out and respond to those types of calls.”
Her sister, Carli Williams, says the family is unsure “why she was in that area,” noting that while they have lived all of their lives in Tampa, where she was found was not a usual route for the young mother.
Williams also added, “We have no idea what happened, what we know is pretty much what the police know.”
She also…
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