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Aaliyah Newell, 47, was last seen Sunday grabbing drinks with her friends. Now those friends are trying to cope with this sudden loss.
“My first thought was, this can’t be real,” said Brandy Garris, friend and sorority sister of the victim. “She was a beautiful, beautiful soul and I hate to think what her last moments were like.”
Newell worked as a human resources recruiter and college adjunct professor. She was found unresponsive in a home in the 7200-block of South Vincennes Avenue in Chicago’s Englewood neighborhood on Wednesday night. Police said she suffered blunt force trauma to her head.
Those who knew and loved her are at a loss.
“She was definitely authentic,” Garris said. “You were going to get Aaliyah Newell and nothing else. Someone truly took away an angel on this Earth.”
Garris met and became close friends with Newell while attending University of Illinois. They were also ‘Alpha Kappa Alpha’ sorority sisters
“Everyone loved Aaliyah,” Garris said. “Everyone did…She was your sister, she was your mother, she was your confidant.”
Garris, like so many others, says enough is enough.
“My first thought was, this can’t be real,” said Garris. “We experienced so much trauma lately. We’re tired of it, tired of it in Chicago and tired of it in our Black and brown community.”
Police said no one is currently in custody and no description of any suspect has been released. An investigation is ongoing.
A candlelight vigil will be held Friday to honor Newell.
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