Desiree Weir, 30, was shot in the head outside her Rockford home on Royal Avenue on May 16, 2018, around 4:15 p.m. Doctors at Mercyhealth Hospital revived her multiple times, but she died about two hours later. A single mother of three, family members described her as the backbone who kept everyone together and recalled spending the previous day with her mother, Stephnie Higar, making steak tacos.

Investigators believed Desiree may not have been the intended target. A man who fled the scene was questioned and later released, and another person found handcuffed at the scene was released when no weapon was located. An 18-year-old from Rockford, Matthew L. Cavender, was charged with First Degree Murder, Aggravated Discharge of a Firearm, Possession of a Firearm without a FOID card, and Mob Action; he was accused of walking up to Desiree and shooting her.

Desiree’s past includes a 2008 conviction for second-degree murder tied to a home invasion that left an accomplice dead, yet family remembered her as a loving mother with a heart of gold. If anyone has information about what happened that afternoon on Royal Avenue, please share it with the authorities.