The family of a woman killed in the US last week believe she died heroically saving her baby daughter.
Jessica Arrendale was shot in the head by her boyfriend on September 14, in her home in Georgia. Her body was found slumped over a toilet seat, and her boyfriend Antoine Davis was found dead in the baby's bedroom. He is believed to have shot Jessica and then killed himself.
The couple's six-month-old daughter was found in the toilet. Police believe that Jessica was holding the baby when she was shot, and managed to turn her body to shield the child, dropping her into the toilet as she did so.
Jessica's mother Teresa Ionniello told local news station WSB that the family believes Antione set out to kill both Jessica and the baby, but that he did not realise the infant had been protected from the shot. "She was the hero," said Teresa of her daughter. "Her last breath was saving the child."
Officials believe Antoine was drunk at the time of the shooting. Police were called to the house in the early hours of the morning, but waited a period of 14 hours to actually enter the house, in case their presence would lead to further violence. However it is believed that both Jessica and Antoine were dead before police arrived to the scene.
Although the baby survived, she suffered a traumatic head injury, possibly from violence inflicted by Antoine before the shooting. An online funding page has been set up by Jessica's friend Leslie Jordan to raise money for the infant's care, as well as the care of her older daughter, aged 15. So far almost $38,000 (£23,190) has been raised.
