Littlemaria Catalina Garcia, a 20-year-old Raleigh woman known to her family as Maria, was shot and killed in what her family describes as the tragic culmination of an abusive relationship. Her mother, Little Garcia, and sister, Martina Garcia, remember her as a loving daughter and sibling who became isolated from them during the two years she was with her girlfriend.
They had tried repeatedly to help her leave the relationship, which they saw as increasingly volatile and dangerous.
The final moments of Littlemaria’s life unfolded on the afternoon of Tuesday, October 27, 2026. At approximately 3:13 p.m., officers from the Raleigh Police Department were dispatched to an apartment complex in the 1100 block of Garner Road, near Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard, after a report of a shooting. When they arrived at the apartment at 1107 Garner Road, they found Littlemaria suffering from a gunshot wound. Emergency services transported her to a local hospital with life-threatening injuries, but she did not survive.
Police arrested Littlemaria’s girlfriend, 18-year-old Shaliah Nikole Battista, at the scene. Investigators from the Raleigh Police Department stated that their preliminary investigation confirmed the two women were in a dating relationship. Battista was taken into custody and subsequently charged with murder. She remained at the scene after the shooting and, according to Garcia's family, called Littlemaria's brother. "She just says on the phone to my brother, 'I'm sorry I had to do it,'" her sister Martina recounted. "She kept saying, 'Wake up, wake up.'"
In the wake of the shooting, Littlemaria’s family spoke out, hoping their story could serve as a warning to others in abusive situations. They described the relationship as toxic and characterized by frequent, physical fights that neighbors had witnessed. "It was just so toxic," Martina Garcia said. "They're fighting. Fist fighting." Court records showed that police had been called to the apartment three times since July of that year. Littlemaria's mother said she had previously contacted police about threats made against her daughter but felt her concerns were not taken seriously. "I questioned the police yesterday, and I said, 'Look where we at now,'" she stated.
Littlemaria's mother expressed profound regret and sorrow, particularly over her efforts to help Battista. "I tried to take that child in because that's what I do. I'm a mom," she said. "But that's one thing I wish I would have never done was take this monster into my home, and she end up taking my child's life." The family also said they had encouraged Battista to seek therapy, but she had refused.
Shaliah Nikole Battista made her first court appearance on Wednesday, October 28, 2026, where she was denied bond. She was scheduled to return to court on November 18. Reports also revealed that Battista had been charged earlier in October in Johnston County with illegally carrying a concealed gun, identified in court records as a black Glock 19 handgun. The investigation into Littlemaria's death was described by police as ongoing as of late October 2026.
As her family mourns, they are left with the painful reality of a life cut short by violence they had desperately tried to prevent. Her mother’s message to others in similar situations is clear and urgent: "To get the hell out. They need to leave. It's not worth it. It's not worth your life. I don't care how much they tell you they love you. I don't care how much they tell you they're sorry." Her family's plea underscores their heartbreak, with her mother stating, "Love shouldn't kill nobody. That's not love."
