ST. LOUIS — "I just got to the scene as fast as I could," said a rattled Shannon Jackson Wednesday.
Jackson raced to north St. Louis after getting the heartbreaking news that her 27-year-old cousin Terri Bankhead and Bankhead's 8-year-old daughter Da'Nilya Edwards had both been found dead inside their home.
"It's just devastating for the family," said Jackson.
All afternoon their family huddled in disbelief near the scene at Pleasant and Penrose streets.
Police said Bankhead's mom had been trying to reach her all day, but to no avail.
Investigators say around 3 p.m. Wednesday, the worried mom went to her daughter's home and once inside she found her daughter and granddaughter both tied up and both shot to death.
"It's very hard to believe. I knew Terri a long time," said Bankhead's cousin, Shagreggria Brown. "We all called her "Shug," because she was sweet as sugar."
Friends and family members say Terri Bankhead was a hard working certified nursing assistant who cherished her only child.
The little girl was a second grader.
Relatives tell 5 On Your Side the mom and daughter lived in the neighborhood for less than six months.
"My cousin was all about her daughter. She went to work, came home and minded her business," said Shannon Jackson.
"She was very loving, giving, kind and loyal. I'm in shock that this even happened to her," said Shagreggria Brown.
Police and crime scene technicians spent hours combing the scene for clues.
"This is very tragic. It's just too much for anyone to bear, so we're asking the community to assist us and provide us with information," said St. Louis Police Chief John Hayden.
"I'm hoping that whoever did it, feels so bad that they just go turn their self in immediately," said Shagreggria Brown.
Investigators are asking anyone with information to call the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department's Homicide Division or Crime Stoppers at 1-866-371-8477.