ST. LOUIS — Ki'Shela Wellington's family says she touched many lives with her bright smile and caring personality.
"Even though she was only 20, she was a giant already. She had a giant heart. She helped her mom, her siblings, her friends. Anyone she wanted to help, she did," said Kim Stewart, Wellington's aunt.
Stewart said her niece enjoyed being her mother's caretaker and worked as a security guard at a Schnuck's supermarket near Gravois and South Grand.
Ki-Shela wanted to become a St. Louis police officer and a professional boxer.
"Ki'Shela was so goal-oriented and she was always on the go," her aunt said.
However, on Dec. 29, her dreams ended tragically.
Police say just after 5 that morning, they found Wellington dead behind the wheel of her silver Chevrolet Impala near the intersection of North Kingshighway and Dr. Martin Luther King Drive.
Several bullet holes pierced her windshield.
"She was a good mile and a half from her home that she shared with my sister. She was almost home," Stewart said.
Stewart said detectives told family members they reviewed video taken from surveillance cameras at that intersection, which showed someone pulled up next to Wellington's car, fired multiple shots and then sped off.
Ki'Shela, shot in her head, died one month before her 21st birthday.
"My niece didn't have any enemies that we know of. This is such a tragedy for our family. For my little sister because whoever did this, they literally took an angel from us," Stewart said.
Wellington was also an active and beloved member of North City Church of Christ.
"She was so sweet to everyone. She was always trying to become something better, something more," said Pastor Rodney Weekly.
A police spokesperson said "detectives are still working leads" in the case, but right now they have not arrested Wellington's killer.
"My sister is just so heartbroken. She will never see her baby again. We want justice for Ki'Shela. She did not deserve this," her aunt said.
On Saturday her family will honor Wellington during a balloon release.
It will be held near North Kingshighway and Page at 3 p.m.