Victims of Campbell Hall shooting were Iraq War veteran, breast cancer survivor
James Eric Davis Sr. and Diva Davis.
Diva Davis and James Eric Davis Sr. were more than victims in the March 2 shooting on the fourth floor of Campbell Hall.
Davis Sr. was an Iraq War veteran. Diva was a breast cancer survivor.
They were parents to Russell Davis, Alexis Davis and James Eric Davis Jr. Police believe Davis Jr. shot and killed Diva and Davis Sr. at about 8:30 a.m. March 2 on the fourth floor of Campbell Hall.
Davis Jr. was captured after a 15-hour manhunt and faces murder charges.
Funeral services for Diva and Davis Sr. took place March 10 at Broadview Missionary Baptist Church in Broadview, Illinois. The Davis family was from the Chicago area.
According to a Facebook post from family friend Jordan Murphy, Davis Sr. was a part-time police officer in Bellwood, a Chicago suburb. A member of the Illinois National Guard, Davis Sr. served in Operation Iraqi Freedom.
Murphy, a longtime friend of Davis Sr., wrote on Facebook that Davis Sr. went by “Eric” and that he brought Davis Jr. to Murphy’s home on several occasions.
“Junior was a very respectful man, raised by upstanding parents, who would do anything to protect him and his siblings,” Murphy wrote. “This is an incredibly tragic event. I pray for Eric's other children. This is so incredibly out of character — something went wrong somewhere.”
Julian Leal, a neighbor of the Davis family, told the Chicago Tribune Davis Sr. was the type of person who would shovel neighbors sidewalks after a snowstorm.
“We had picnics in our backyard,” Leal said. “I just had a beer with him last week (before March 2). We talked about our kids who are in college. He was proud of his son.”
Diva’s Facebook page said she worked as a real estate broker. Friends told the Tribune she was a breast cancer survivor and worked as a flight attendant.
Friend Tyjuana Hedrick-Powell called Diva a “go-getter” who also worked for Mary Kay cosmetics.
"You could hear it in her voice. She loved to travel," Hedrick-Powell told the Tribune.
Russell, the oldest son of Diva and Davis Sr., said in a Facebook post that he loved his parents and his brother, Davis Jr.
Russell tagged his sister, Alexis, in his post. Alexis took to Twitter the day her parents were killed.
“Today I lost my parents...the only people that loved me unconditionally,” she tweeted. “I’m thankful for every single thing they’ve done for me. … All I ask is for everyone to keep me and the rest of my family in your prays (sic).”
Central Michigan Life reached out to the family for comment.
Davis Jr. is being held in the Isabella County Jail on a $1.25 million bond. He is scheduled for a probable cause hearing 2:45 p.m. March 16, according to the Isabella County Trial Court Calendar.
