Family of teenaged murder victim lingers on good memories

September 21, 2009

Tonya Carney, Desirae's aunt. (KTUU-DT)

by Leyla Santiago
Monday, September 21, 2009

ANCHORAGE, Alaska -- The family of 17-year-old Desirae Douglas talked about her big heart, her big smile and her big ambitions Sunday night as they mourned her death early that morning from a gunshot wound inflicted during a rowdy underage drinking party near Muldoon Road and East 36th Avenue.

Desirae was a normal teenager in the eyes of her family members, who are now holding on to every memory.

"She was a girly girl," Tonya Carney, Desirae's aunt, said. "Liked to do the hair, the makeup -- all the fun stuff."

Photos taken just after she graduated from a youth academy show the 17- year old beaming. She had dreams of becoming a nurse.

"We don't ever believe it could happen to one of ours," Carney said. "We don't ever believe that, and this time it was one of ours."

It's still a surreal experience for Carney, who had found out just hours before that her niece was killed at an East Anchorage party.

"The girl that got shot, right before it happened, she ran up and tried coming in our house," said Antony Spencer-Phillips, a neighbor.

Just minutes later, cars pulled up and the shooting started.

When it was over, Spencer-Phillips ran outside to help. He found Desirae inside on the couch as her friends tried to resuscitate her.

"The cops showed up and told them to get the hell off of her, and he was going to try to do it, and I guess he felt a faint pulse," Spencer-Phillips said.

It was too late. Desirae was pronounced dead.

In the meantime, police have not made any arrests, and they're asking anyone who might have witnessed the shooting to come forward.

"We don't know if it's another kid, but whoever it is, they have a mom and their mom is going to go through the emotion, the loss, some other parent is going to go through that, and all we can do is pray for them and that family right now," Carney said.

Many questions remain unanswered, but Desirae's family members say they will pray their way to healing -- and they pray that something good can come of this.

"I believe that this is going to be a wakeup call for a lot of teenagers, and if one kid gets saved because she died, you couldn't ask for a better gift," Carney said.

Anyone with information about Desirae's murder can call Anchorage police at 786-8582.

Contact Leyla Santiago at lsantiago@ktuu.com

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