Lamarr Boyd and Tiffany Martin were looking forward to welcoming their son into the world. After several miscarriages, they were hopeful that he would be born as planned in November 2018.
But the baby was born early, on Sept. 11, 2018, and died the same day. Lamarr and Tiffany were devastated.
“He didn’t really show emotion, so when it came to my son passing he made it known his heart was broken and he’d never be the same,” Tiffany said. “All he ever wanted was a child of his own, and he distanced himself from everybody.”
Lamarr, who went by “Marr,” was working at Burger King but his goals were to find a better job, help his mom and be a father one day, but he never got the chance.
Lamarr was shot and killed March 6, 2019 while waiting for food inside a Chinese take-out in the 700 block of East Ontario Street in Kensington. Security cameras captured the shooting, but no arrests have been made.
Tiffany has three other kids, ages 12, 10 and 9, and losing Lamarr has been hard on them.
“They speak of him every day,” she said. “They haven’t come to grips with the fact that it’s real. We’re just trying to get by day by day.”
Lamarr was born in Philadelphia on June 16, 1992 and grew up in West Philly. Lamarr and Tiffany met through mutual friends in April 2016, and his personality drew her to him.
She described him as goofy, funny and outgoing, but very serious when he needed to be.
“His smile alone — he could literally walk into a room and brighten it,” she said. “He didn’t like for anyone to be sad around him, even if he was hurting. He was really warm-hearted, and he wasn’t one to be negative.”
Tiffany remembers how Lamarr would go into his comedian mode and exaggerate the expression on his face and speak in a funny voice to get people to laugh. He also enjoyed music, playing video games and was starting to get into paintball.
The delay in Lamarr getting justice is starting to become frustrating, and Tiffany said she’s been having trouble getting information about the status of his case.
“It’s been nine months and we have nothing, no justice, not even the slightest bit,” she said.
A reward of up to $20,000 if available to anyone that comes forward with information that leads to the arrest and conviction of the person responsible for Lamarr’s murder. Anonymous calls can be submitted by calling the Citizens Crime Commission at 215-546-TIPS.
Date: 2019-03-07
Location: 700 E Ontario St, Philadelphia, PA
