Tarel Felder was supposed to be spending a few days with his 4-year-old daughter after she and her mother moved away, but instead the Texas man shot the young girl to death after posting a foreboding video on Instagram hinting about his plans to kill the girl.
The tragic scene played out last week in Texas, where police say the 26-year-old Felder killed Amyira Mi’Heaven Felder. Police said that Tarel Felder was angry at his ex-girlfriend for moving to Louisiana and starting a relationship with a new man, KTRK reported.
Felder was supposed to pick up his young daughter so he and his mother, Dorian Johnson, could spend time with the girl. Instead, Felder would go on to shoot his young daughter to death before taking his own life.
Police said Tarel Felder shot and killed his daughter in an upstairs bedroom in his home, then took his own life. It was Felder’s mother who found them both dead.
Tarel Felder had filmed a foreboding Instagram video just hours before killing his daughter, saying that he had “talked to God” the night before. In the video, Felder can be seen scolding the girl for running away and later making a vague threat.
“I’m through with the thing,” he said. “Ya heard me? I’m through with it.”
Felder never discusses his exact plans in the video, but is seen crying before the abrupt end.
The video can be seen below, but be warned that it contains some adult language.
The girl’s mother, Shonique Johnson, found out about her daughter’s death through a phone call from police in Texas, KTRK reported.
“He pointed a gun at my baby because she was trying to run, and he shot her,” Johnson told us through her tears.
Johnson added that her daughter was excited to be spending time with her father and grandmother.
“She wanted to go,” said Johnson. “She said she wanted to be with her nana and her daddy because she was missing him, and I allowed her to go.”
There were no signs of the tragic violence that would come, Johnson told KTRK .
“Johnson says up until that point, Felder was agreeable. She did not feel her daughter was in any danger with her own father. However, on Thursday morning, Felder told her over the phone he wanted to get back together. Johnson said she was firm, and told him she had moved on — and that’s when he became angry.
“‘I told him I didn’t want to be with him no more, and he knew this, I didn’t want to be with him no more. My baby was supposed to come home on Sunday,’ she explains.”
Family members started a GoFundMe page to help raise some money for the girl’s funeral, one that has already attracted more than $4,000 toward the $10,000 goal.
“This beautiful little angel has gone to be with our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ,” family members wrote. “Amyira Mi’Heaven age 4 life was cut short by a selfish act committed by someone who was suppose to love her and protect her. Please join me in donating whatever your heart desires to help with funeral cost for this beautiful baby.”
The fundraiser attracted donations and messages of condolences from across the country.
Tarel Felder had often posted pictures on Instagram showing what appeared to be a free-wheeling lifestyle, with images of stacks of money and expensive jewelry.
But he also flashed a violent side, including a picture showing Felder pointing two handguns toward the camera with another tucked into his waistband.
The mother of Amyira Mi’Heaven Felder traveled to Texas this week to bring her daughter’s body home to be buried. It is not clear what plans were arranged for Tarel Felder to be buried.
[Featured Image by Antoinette Vailes/GoFundMe]