COLUMBUS, Ohio -- A 21-year-old Columbus woman was murdered, fatally beaten in front of her own children, over the weekend, and police suspect the children’s father as the killer.
NBC 4 reported with the FAST FACTS.
Christie Lyles was fatally beaten while her two children were in the home, and Columbus police continued to search for suspect Fred D. Brooks who also is the children’s father.
Lyles’ mother, Misty Dawson, went to her daughter's Southeast Side home at 8:30 a.m. Sunday.
Dawson found Lyles facedown on the kitchen floor and unresponsive at her Lilley Avenue apartment. Medics pronounced 21-year-old Lyles dead at the scene.
Lyles’ two young children, a 3-month-old and a 2-year-old, were beside Lyles. They were unharmed and currently are with family.
When the 911 dispatcher asked Dawson who might be responsible she said, “Fred Brooks.”
Signs of trauma indicated Lyles was the victim of homicide, according to authorities.
CPD named the children’s father, Fred D. Brooks, as a suspect in Lyles’ murder.
CPD said Brooks was traveling in Dawson’s 2001 blue S-10 Chevy Blazer with an Ohio license plate of FB13EL.
CPD found Dawson’s vehicle at a Sunoco on Alum Creek Drive Monday morning.
Detectives said Brooks could be traveling with another woman who also has children with Payne.
In fact, that woman’s father called police, too.
Dawson filed two protection orders against Brooks, but neither were served, according to court records.
Anyone with information on Fred. D. Brooks’ whereabouts or the city’s 56th homicide of 2009 should call CPD at 614-645-4545.
An autopsy was to determine Lyles’ cause of death.
Lyles was a 2006 graduate of Fort Hayes High School and was about to start a new job.
A local shelter for battered women NBC 4 spoke to said since the economy has worsened, it has seen more women coming to the shelter seeking protection.
That doesn't necessarily mean more women are being beaten by a partner, but they may have become more desperate on where to turn.
For additional information, stay with NBC 4 and refresh nbc4i.com -- Where Accuracy Matters.
To submit a story idea or news tip, e-mail stories@nbc4i.com.
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