Cheyenne Kay Russell, 26, was shot and killed on January 6, 2025, at an apartment complex on Bellwood Lake Road in Tyler, Texas. She had just moved into the unit that morning. According to arrest documents, a roommate found her on the couch with a blanket over her head and blood on her face after Cheyenne’s oldest child alerted them that their mother was dead. An autopsy recorded three gunshot wounds, including one between the eyes. The child witnessed the shooting and identified the children’s father, 29-year-old Jorian Raklyn Nashun Jackson of Plano, as the person who caused the red on Cheyenne’s dress.

Jackson fled and was located and arrested at his grandparents’ home in Tyler on January 22, 2025; his grandparents, Carolyn and Willie Johnson, were charged with hindering apprehension. Jackson was taken to a hospital for undisclosed reasons before being booked on a $1 million bond. The State filed a paternity case against Jackson on February 4, 2025, to establish parentage and support for one of Cheyenne’s children; service of citation was complicated by his incarceration. Cheyenne, born July 29, 1998, in Wichita, Kansas, is survived by two children, her parents Allen and Jennifer Russell, three siblings, and extended family.

Did anyone in Tyler or Nacogdoches know Cheyenne or her family and can share information about where the children are being cared for now?