JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The family of an 18-year-old Ribault High student killed last month continues to mourn her loss and now wants justice.
Santeria Williams’ grandmother, Deborah Caul, said this past month has been difficult since the teen’s body was found Jan. 7 alongside the Trout River.
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“I’ve been crying every day, every day I look at her picture, I’m crying,” said Caul.
A month after the 18-year-old’s death shook the community, the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office announced an arrest. Jeffrey Antione Edwards, 19, is charged with murder.
RELATED: Arrest made in murder of Ribault High student: JSO
According to Duval County jail records, Edwards was arrested on Jan. 12 on charges of attempted murder and armed robbery, and the murder charge was added Monday.
Caul said Williams and Edwards knew each other, so she wasn’t surprised when JSO announced his arrest.
“I don’t know what their relationship was,” Caul said. “I know she knew him through school.”
Caul said the family wants justice and the murder arrest is the first step.
“We want justice to be served for her and for us to rest in our hearts have a little bit of peace even though it ain’t going to bring her back, but we feel better about him not being on the streets,” Caul said.
After police announced the discovery of the body near the river last month, family members confirmed that the body was that of Williams.
Her mother told JSO that Williams went to bed at her home at Calloway Cove Apartments around 9 p.m. Jan. 4, and when the mother woke up the next morning, Williams was gone, according to a missing person report.
The family said she left in her pajamas with only her phone in hand.
The mother had a phone conversation with a friend of Williams’, who said she was hanging out with friends and was fine, the report stated. The mother kept calling Williams, but the calls all went to voicemail, according to the report.
Williams’ grandmother said doesn’t know how something like this could have happened to a loveable young woman.
“She was a fun person. She didn’t have an evil spirit in her bones,” Caul said. “She didn’t get mad at anything. She didn’t let things bother her.”