Daysha Cazley

Daysha Cazley was a loving and ambitious 16-year-old Black girl from Whiting, Indiana, whose family remembered her as a sweet, hard worker with a big heart. Her mother, Regina Harris, said Daysha had an "energy of love" and was always helping others. The teen, who was one of six siblings, worked summer jobs and dreamed of one day opening her own beauty salon. Her family said she had befriended a young woman who was homeless and would often help her buy food or pay for a hotel room.

On the morning of March 13, 2023, Daysha was at the Holland Inn & Suites hotel in South Holland, Illinois. South Holland police were called to the hotel around 6:15 a.m. for what they initially described as a domestic dispute. Inside one of the rooms, Daysha had been shot. She was pronounced dead at 6:40 a.m. from a single gunshot wound to the chest.

Police arrested 21-year-old Kennisha Laing of Olympia Fields at the scene. Laing was the friend Daysha had been helping, and she was charged with first-degree murder. In the days following the shooting, Daysha’s family expressed their shock and heartbreak. "You would never think in a million years that someone would do something like this to a person that had been helping you for almost two years," her mother said. Her family returned to the hotel seeking answers and justice for the girl whose life was cut short.

Laing was initially held without bond at the Cook County Jail. She spent one year incarcerated and another two years on electronic monitoring while awaiting trial. The case concluded with a one-day bench trial before a Cook County judge. Laing’s public defender argued that she had acted in self-defense.

Evidence presented at the trial, including testimony from a friend of Daysha’s and text messages, established a sequence of events that the defense said was not in dispute. After a fight, Laing locked Daysha and her friend out of the hotel room. According to the defense attorney, the two girls then agreed via text to "rob and beat up" Laing. After trying unsuccessfully to get a key from the front desk, they broke the room’s window to get inside. As the window shattered, Laing fired one shot, which fatally struck Daysha.

In September 2026, the judge found Kennisha Laing not guilty of murder, ruling that she had acted in self-defense. Following the acquittal, Laing was released from electronic monitoring and all charges were dismissed. The case is now legally closed.