Teen Mother, 18, Stabbed To Death By Former Best Friend, 16, After Facebook Fight Over ‘A Guy’
A young mother, 18-year-old Kayla VanWert, was murdered by her 16-year-old former “best friend.” The pair allegedly got into a Facebook argument over the father of VanWert’s 1-year-old child which resulted in the confrontation that would leave the mother dead. Kayla’s former friend, Cathleen Boyer, 16, reportedly stabbed the young woman to death after the pair decided to meet for a “fist fight.”
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The Daily Mail reports that 18-year-old Kayla VanWert was stabbed to death in Pennsylvania after her former best friend began vying for the attention of 19-year-old Jorge DeJesus, the father of VanWert’s 1-year-old daughter. It was revealed that though Kayla and Cathleen were previously “best friends,” their friendship turned sour after the pair began to fight over DeJesus. Both young women reportedly wanted the attention of DeJesus and it ultimately ended with the pair deciding they would meet for a “fist fight” to end the dispute.
Cathleen Boyer, 16, Accused Of Fatally Stabbing Kayla VanWert In Facebook Feud Over Boy https://t.co/RGUd3uIiRn pic.twitter.com/63RReBUM6H
— UJReview (@UJReview) June 1, 2016
Roxanne Draper, who hosted Kayla VanWert in her home, says that the pair got into a “heated argument” on Facebook Messenger before the stabbing. Draper tells the Pocono Record that the fight was “over a guy” and that the two former friends had been fighting over the boy for nearly a year.
“They used to be the best of friends. It all went sour over a guy.”
Draper claims that when Boyer said she was going to come over to fight VanWert, the young mother thought they were going to have a fist fight, not a knife fight. However, when Boyer arrived, a knife was present and VanWert was stabbed in the chest and neck. The mother was rushed to a nearby hospital in Scranton but died from extreme blood loss from her stab wounds.
The police indicate that the troubles for VanWert did not begin with Cathleen Boyer. Jorge DeJesus was arrested just hours before the murder for “simple assault” after he reportedly dragged VanWert by her hair and beat her while she was holding the pair’s daughter. However, DeJesus says that he beat VanWert out of self-defense claiming that the young mother hit him first.
Though he claimed self-defense, this is not the first time that DeJesus has been accused of disturbing behavior in the presence of VanWert. In a previous arrest report, it was indicated that DeJesus had been accused of firing a handgun inside of VanWert’s home.
Balloons & candles spelling out “KV” now on McKenna Ct where 18yo Kayla VanWert was fatally stabbed Sunday @WNEP pic.twitter.com/IaUD3R4Zro
— Stacy Lange (@stacylange) May 31, 2016
Following the young mother’s death, her 1-year-old daughter was placed under the car of the DeJesus family. VanWert’s mother says her daughter was a “wonderful, caring person” and that she was a “great mother.” Meanwhile, Boyd took to Facebook shortly after the murder to say she “is wrong” and that she was going to “turn herself in.” However, she followed the statement by noting she has “no remorse.”
“I’m wrong, I’ll admit it and I’m gonna turn myself in… but it is what it is at the end of the day, got to face the consequences… no remorse.”
Boyd is currently being held by police on charges of aggravated assault, simple assault, and reckless endangerment. Though Boyd is 16 years old, the police are charging her as an adult. Authorities note that a charge of criminal homicide is pending.
[Image via Facebook/Kayla VanWert/ Cathleen Boyd]
