Mirna Santiago and William Lyons met in 2013 when they were both ordering food at McDonald’s.
“He bought my food for me, we exchanged numbers and from there we started talking,” Mirna said.
Their first date was at Applebee’s. A few months into their relationship, Mirna found out that Will hadn’t been completely upfront about something: his age.
He had told Mirna, who was 24 and a mother of two, that he was 22, but she later learned that he was just turning 18.
“He said, ‘I wanted to tell you the truth, but I was afraid you’d stop talking to me,’” Mirna said with a laugh.
She stuck by his side through his incarcerations over the years, and three years ago they had a son together, Xzayvion. His son’s birth changed Will, Mirna said.
“He changed his life. He was a street person when I first met him but he really did try his best to do better for himself,” she said. “I knew him for seven years and he was young, but he proved to me that he’d do his job as a man, and he did. He really did meet me halfway.”
Earlier this year, Mirna found out she was pregnant with her second child with Will, a girl. Her due date is March 10, 2020, which happens to be Will’s birthday — he was born March 10, 1995.
“He was really happy,” Mirna said. “He like, ‘That’s my girl!’ He already had a boy and so he really wanted a girl. He was really excited.”
Tragically, he will never have the opportunity to meet his daughter. Will was shot and killed Aug. 21, 2019 while driving his vehicle in the area of 3rd Street and Hunting Park Avenue in Feltonville.
According to police, someone shot at him from a vehicle that had been traveling in the same direction. Will lost control of his vehicle and was pronounced dead at Temple University Hospital a short time later.
After Will’s death, their son kept asking for him. When Mirna would be on the phone, he’d ask if she was talking to daddy, and he would look out the window expecting him to come home.
Mirna began taking the kids to Oakland Cemetery to visit Will’s grave, telling them, “Daddy is sleeping here,” in order to help Xzayvion understand.
Now five months pregnant and caring for three kids on her own, Mirna has been handing out flyers and trying to do all she can to get justice for Will.
“His life should not have been taken. He did not deserve this. He was a good person and he had a really big heart,” Mirna said. “He was a family person and he’d do what he had to do to provide for his family. I want my kids to know that they caught whoever did this to their dad.”
She never knew Will to have a beef with anyone. His family was his priority, and he also enjoyed hitting local casinos like Sugar House and Parx. He also loved sneakers and always made sure he was looking good.
“Our lives were destroyed that day,” Mirna said. “I know in my heart that if he were a bad person, I would have known about it. He didn’t have problems with people. I know I might never find out why, but I want to know who did it and I want them to pay for it.”
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 Will’s murder. Anonymous calls can be submitted by calling the Citizens Crime Commission at 215-546-TIPS.
Leave a Reply