Family grapples with loss after man found shot to death in Oak St. apartment
LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WAVE) - A family is grappling with a devastating loss, which, police say, was caused by someone they knew and trusted.
On Monday, Louisville police announced that 35-year-old William B. Baker is charged with murder after an incident earlier this month.
The man police say he killed is 48-year-old Vincent Norris.
Vincent’s girlfriend and daughter told WAVE his first priority was always his family, and even when he didn’t have a lot, he would do anything to make sure his family was okay.
They also said Baker was like a part of their family, and they cannot fathom why he would do this.
“I’m forever haunted by the image that I saw that day. There’s just no way I’ll ever be able to forget it,” said Whitney Smith,
For Smith, December 3rd is a day burned into her memory. That’s when she came home from work to find Vincent had passed away.
Police later found he’d been shot 12 times.
Through Smith’s shock, one thing was at the front of her mind.
“How am I gonna tell Cheyenne? Like, that was... I just, I knew I couldn’t tell her that,” said Smith.
Vincent’s daughter, Cheyenne Norris, said her relationship with her dad was special.
“My whole life, it was just me and my dad, me and my dad,” said Cheyenne. “That was, like, my whole heart, and it really is, like, ‘what do I do now?’”
Cheyenne told WAVE that William Baker was a friend of her dad’s, and she saw him like another family member.
“My dad, my aunt, called him brother. Me and my cousins called him uncle,” said Cheyenne. “We had known him, like we said, maybe five years or whatever, but in that time, he had gotten close with all of us to that point... especially my dad.”
Now, Smith and Cheyenne are struggling to understand the reason why, especially given the type of person Vincent was and how much he loved his family.
“He had a beautiful soul and a beautiful personality, and a beautiful smile. I mean, he had the biggest teeth, smile, everything. He was just a great guy,” said Smith. “I mean, he talked about his family, and he would just gush, he would smile and he would tell me all of these stories.”
Cheyenne said her dad had even become a father figure for her two-year-old son after his dad was killed last year.
“My son loved him... that’s what makes it harder too, is ‘cause, I have to tell my son his dad was murdered, and his pawpaw was murdered, too, as he gets older,” said Cheyenne.
Although nothing will bring Vincent back, Cheyenne and Smith said they hope Baker understands how deeply this loss cuts.
“I just hope that will sees this and sees the damage that he caused for no reason. I mean, absolutely no reason. There was no reason at all to hurt Vincent. There was no reason at all. He had so much to live for,” said Smith.
William Baker is charged with one count of murder, one count of possession of a handgun by a convicted felon and one count of tampering with physical evidence in connection to this homicide.
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