Homicide victim's mother said he loved children

Angela Stewart said her son, Airious Darling, always loved children, even though he never had a child of his own.

Darling, 28, had the habit back at home in the south side of Memphis, Tennessee, of taking a crew of neighborhood children to the nearest convenience store and getting each of them whatever type of treat they wanted, Stewart said.

It was this affinity that led to Darling being at the wrong place at the wrong time March 31 in Cape Girardeau, she said.

Darling was baby-sitting that night for a friend and had recently received good news he had been accepted for a job in Cape Girardeau. He recently moved to Cape Girardeau from Memphis in an effort to improve his life, and he was staying with a few people in town on Sprigg Street, Stewart said. Stewart said she did not know the company where he was supposed to begin working; he recently messaged her to tell a few small details.

Darling had just finished taking care of his friend's 1-year-old daughter and was on the porch at 612 Locust St at 9:20 p.m. when a gunman walked up to the porch and fatally shot Darling while he still was holding the child, according to witness interviews with police. The police report suggests Darling did not know his killer.

"He was helping out," Stewart said. "He never let the baby go."

Stewart said she is still in shock and she has been in a constant state of grief over the past two weeks.

"I'm still coming to grips with the fact that he's not here anymore," Stewart said. "He was too young to leave. He just didn't have a chance to live."

She said Darling was well-liked by almost everyone. His love of dancing and a positive attitude made him a joy to be around, Stewart said.

His funeral service Saturday at Greater Life Baptist Church in Memphis was attended by more than 100 mourners, Stewart said. She said Darling obeyed her teachings and avoided trouble as much as possible.

"I never thought in a million years," Stewart said of Darling's death. "I thought he would be burying me, not me burying him."

On April 6, the Cape Girardeau County prosecuting attorney's office charged Tavious L. Tipler, 19, of Cape Girardeau with murder in the killing of Darling. Tipler also faces charges of armed criminal action and first-degree endangering the welfare of a child.

The probable-cause report from Major Case Squad member Cpl. J.A. Lacey stated several witnesses described Tipler as the shooter and that Tipler intended to kill another man who happened to reside at 612 Locust St. The man told police he had previously threatened to identify Tipler to police after Tipler robbed the man in January.

When asked what she would ask her son's shooter, Stewart said: "I just want to know, 'Why?' You destroyed my family just as well as your family. Why? Why didn't you think before you did this? It's just senseless. I'm praying for his family as well as my own."

Felice Roberson still is seeking justice for the death of her son, Quinton Combs, 24, who was shot and killed on South Frederick Street in Cape Girardeau in November. She has formed the Stop Needless Acts of Violence Please group that has held community meetings in an effort to stem gun violence in Cape Girardeau. SNAP is going to hold a vigil for all victims of violence at Sprigg and Locust streets at 7 p.m. today.

"I believe the quality of life in Cape Girardeau is lowering as we speak, when you are standing on a porch with a baby in your arms and can be murdered," Roberson said. "It blows my mind. How can this atmosphere of violence keep raising its ugly head without the citizens of this town speaking up? ... Justice has to be served for the victims."

One of Roberson's main messages is witnesses need to talk to the police. Cape Girardeau police said about 60 people were in the vicinity when Combs was killed. Police Chief Wes Blair said witness cooperation was crucial in Tipler's arrest.

Roberson said in Darling's case, her prayers for justice were answered, especially because witnesses came forward and talked to the police.

bkleine@semissourian.com

(573) 388-3644

Pertinent address: 612 Locust St., Cape Girardeau, Mo.