CMHU announces arrest in Crisyah Stephens homicide
The St. Joseph County Metro Homicide Unit has made an arrest in the homicide of 7-year-old Chrisyah Stephens.
She was shot and killed in August 2020.
Jaheim Lamar Campbell, 18, has been arrested and charged with murder and attempted murder.
Campbell was targeting someone else at the party where Stephens was killed, investigators said.
On August 29 at around 7:45 p.m., South Bend Police responded to the 800 block of E. Donald Street to investigate a shooting.
When they arrived, they found Stephens with a gunshot wound to the head. She was taken to Memorial Hospital where she was pronounced deceased later that evening.
One witness told investigators approximately two hours before the shooting, Campbell asked the witness to help him find “SB Nasty” so he could kill him, according to reports. The witness didn’t help Campbell.
Police confirmed “SB Nasty” was at the event where Stephens was shot.
Another witness told investigators they messaged Campbell after the shooting and wrote, “Why why Whyyyy” and Campbell responded “Bc I want sbsnasty that’s y,” according to the probable cause affidavit.
The witness then responded, “But you shot a 8 year old girl that was my niece now she gone,” and Campbell replied, “I told everyone this is nota joke and I’m not satisfied yet,” according to the probable cause affidavit.
On October 15, Campbell was arrested on an unrelated warrant.
Campbell initially told multiple stories but eventually admitted to the Facebook exchange with the second witness, reports said.
He also admitted to being in the front passenger seat of a vehicle traveling through the area of High and Donald Street with two others at the time of the shooting, reports said.
Campbell initially said the rear seat passenger did the shooting, but witnesses told police the front passenger seat fired in the direction of SB Nasty, reports said.
When confronted with that information, Campbell tried to recant his statement.
The charges against Campbell were filed on Friday.