In Phoenix, Arizona, a 36-year-old Hispanic woman named Racal Monique Ramos, known to her loved ones as 'Kelly,' was killed on August 22, 2022. On that evening, around 7:00 p.m., Phoenix police were called to an apartment in the vicinity of 26th Avenue and Myrtle for a welfare check. As they arrived, the sound of gunshots echoed from within one of the units.
Inside, they discovered Racal suffering from gunshot wounds.
Emergency services transported her to a local hospital in critical condition, but she succumbed to her injuries. Witnesses at the scene reported that a suspect had fled the apartment immediately after the shooting. It was soon learned that the man believed to be responsible was her boyfriend, 36-year-old Jermaine Lamar Houston. Friends and family later shared the heartbreaking detail that Racal was in the process of trying to leave the apartment and was on the phone with a domestic violence shelter when she was shot in front of her children.
A search of the area was promptly initiated by law enforcement. Jermaine Lamar Houston was discovered hiding in the backyard of a nearby residence and was taken into custody. He was subsequently booked into jail on several charges, including first-degree murder for the death of Racal. Houston was later sentenced to life in prison for the murder. Those who knew Racal, a mother of four, remembered her as a paraprofessional and teacher's aide who brightened any room with her smile and laughter. A memorial fund was established to honor her memory and to provide support for her children.
