Vigil held for slain family

Usha Mackey remembers the day she met Jatavius DeVore, when the 20-year-old neighbor came to her rescue at Archdale Forest Apartments.

As Mackey, 18, struggled to make it home with her laundry basket, DeVore stopped, put the basket in his car and gave her a ride home. They became quick friends.

Mackey sat in a pew Monday night at Tree of Life Ministries in North Charleston and shed tears of grief for the friend she called "T."

"I didn't even get to say goodbye to him," Mackey said.

DeVore and his mother, 44-year-old Diane Grant, were found shot to death July 10 in their apartment. Police found the body of DeVore's 14-year-old sister, DeAnna DeVore, outside, a few buildings away.

Neighbors had reported hearing gunshots and a woman's scream at about 2:30 a.m.

The case remains unsolved, and police have not identified a suspect.

About 175 people attended a vigil at the Rivers Avenue church. Among them was Anthony Gilliard, a manager who supervised Diane Grant when they worked the same shift at the Bosch plant on Dorchester Road.

"She was a stellar performer," Gilliard said. "Everyone respected Diane. This is a big loss for us."

After Jatavius DeVore helped Mackey with her laundry, he brought her into his circle of friends from the apartment complex, Mackey said. They hung out almost every night at Jatavius DeVore's apartment or at the apartment of one of the friends a couple of buildings away.

Mackey wasn't with the group the night of the killings, but she said the friends always stayed up well past midnight, and it wouldn't have been uncommon for Jatavius DeVore to be coming home from the neighbor's house at 2:30 a.m.

Dorchester County Sheriff's Office investigators have said there was no sign of forced entry into the apartment. Mackey said the family did not open the door to strangers.

Oakbrook Middle School Principal Garland Crump remembered DeAnna DeVore, the pretty teenager who seemed to brighten up every room with her smile, he said. On her last day of school in the spring, he gave her a hug and wished her luck in high school, he said.

"She turned back and smiled at me and said, 'Mr. Crump, I will make you proud.' And she has," Crump said.

DeAnna DeVore would have started her first year at Fort Dor-chester High School in the fall.

The Sheriff's Office on Monday had no new information to report about the case. Detectives were following leads and conducting interviews, Capt. Tom Marshall said.

"I wish someone would walk in and tell us who did it," he said.

A wake for the family is set for 7 tonight at the Estill Elementary Auditorium, 323 4th St. in Estill.

The funeral is at noon Wednesday in the auditorium and will be followed by the burial at Mount Zion Cemetery in Gifford.