MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Dozens packed a Whitehaven neighborhood to remember a mother and daughter killed earlier this month after the newborn’s father confessed to throwing her into the Mississippi River.
It was a day that a family dreaded as they prepared to say goodbye to two of their own. Memphis Police said Danielle Hoyle was shot to death earlier this month and her newborn daughter, Kennedy, is believed to be dead as well.
Investigators said Kennedy’s father, Brandon Isabelle, confessed to both crimes, leading us to tonight’s vigil. It is where we find Danielle Hoyle’s mom, April Campbell.
“This hurt us. This hurt us to the core,” Campbell said. “I just don’t see how he can kill his own child. It wasn’t no reason for it. We didn’t need him. Kennedy was gone be taking care of regardless. My grandbaby was gone have the world.”
Detectives have yet to find the body of Kennedy, after Isabelle told them he threw her into the Mississippi River. For Campbell, the hardest things is not having closure.
“I just need to know for sure,” she said. “Shouldn’t nobody give up on their kids until they know, know that they’re actually gone, and I don’t know that. I just want to know.”
While Isabelle has been charged with the deaths of the mother and daughter, family members say this is part of a large issue: crime in Memphis.
“I’m just tired of all this killing out here,” Carmelita Robinson, a family member said. “People, please think before you do something. This is hurting us. I mean, what are you gonna do when someone shoots your parent or your child?”
A funeral for Danielle will be held on Saturday. WREG will keep you updated once those details are made public.
Isabelle is set to be back in court next week.
