'We saw nothing': Few signs of domestic violence before woman found dead in trunk, family says

Zaiylah Bronson’s family was shocked and excited when they found out she was expecting her first child. 

Now, the family is planning a funeral for the 19-year-old Kansas woman who police say was killed by her boyfriend.

Bronson’s body was found in the trunk of a car Saturday morning.

Her boyfriend, 22-year-old Alexander Lewis, was charged with first-degree murder related to a domestic violence incident, the Wichita Police Department said in a news release.

Wichita dispatchers received a call at 11:08 a.m. from a 911 operator in North Carolina. The North Carolina operator said there was a possible homicide in Wichita and that officials had received a call from Lewis' family member.

Wichita police went to two different locations to check on the victim. At one of the locations, officers talked to Lewis and found Bronson in the trunk of his car. Police pulled her out of the trunk and tried to save her until EMS arrived. She was later pronounced dead.

Investigators are still trying to figure out what led to her death.

Mark Manna, chief attorney for the state's Death Penalty Defense Unit, spoke for Lewis via email and said the office has no comment.

Taronza Bronson is Zaiylah’s mother and said she went to a women’s gathering Saturday and shopped a bit. She was out when she received a call from her husband, who asked if she had spoken to the police. 

“I immediately dropped everything in my hand, my purse and everything, and just fell to the floor,” she recalled. “It was very, very, very devastating. It is still that. It is still hard.”

Bronson had been dating Lewis for at least a year, her mother said.

Taronza said her daughter's boyfriend seemed well-spoken and was in the U.S. Air Force. He seemed like a smart guy, she said. She wonders if she just wasn’t around enough to notice that something was wrong.

"We saw nothing," she said.

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Expectant mother was generous, independent and encouraging

Bronson, the oldest of three children, was born when her father was stationed at Fort Campbell military base. 

The family moved to Kansas when she was in elementary school, said her mother, Taronza.

She was a manager at Citi Trends, a clothing store. She lived alone in Wichita while her parents and two younger siblings stayed about three hours away in Leavenworth.

“We were close,” said her mother in an interview with USA TODAY Thursday morning. “She would contact one of us at least every day. She would have two days off and she would come down … just to see us and spend time.”

Bronson also had a mini poodle named Oliver who she was a “wonderful” dog mom to, her mother said. She first brought Oliver home when he was about six to eight weeks old. 

He could barely fit in her hand at the time, her mother recalled. Now, Taronza needs to pick the dog up and care for him in her daughter’s place.

Her baby boy’s name was a surprise, mother says

Bronson first told her mother about her pregnancy when she was about six weeks along. She had gone to a doctor’s appointment and showed up at her mother’s house with a bag full of items.

“Mom, look what the doctor gave me,” Bronson told her mother. 

Her mother saw blankets and thought they were for her dog, Oliver, but when she kept looking she also saw diapers. 

“I was shocked, happy, surprised all at once because she's so young,” her mother said. “She's 19 years old.”

The baby’s name came up during the last conversation she had with her mother. She wanted it to be a surprise. To her mother’s knowledge, only Bronson and Lewis, the child’s father, know what the baby would’ve been named had they lived.

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GoFundMe started to give Bronson the homegoing service she deserves

Bronson's godmother, Dawn Wilson, started a GoFundMe to cover funeral arrangements and burial expenses.

“The depth of pain that domestic violence inflicts upon its victims and their loved ones is unimaginable,” the fundraiser reads. “No one should ever have to endure such suffering, and we must come together to address and prevent such tragedies from occurring.”

Wilson first met the family when she worked with the 19-year-old’s father at a prison. Her death is unexpected, she said.

“Zaiylah is very vibrant, very free-spirited … would give her last to you,” Wilson said, smiling. “Just very outgoing, very spunky. You go from planning baby showers to now planning funerals for somebody so young.”

They plan to have a fantastic homegoing service for Bronson, set for September 9. 

She wants people to remember her goddaughter for the spunky, track star she was. Hold onto those memories, she said.

She also thinks her goddaughter has likely already forgiven her killer.

“Will it make it right? Absolutely not,” Dawn said. “Being … a survivor of domestic violence myself, in order to heal, you have to be able to forgive, to move forward with your life. That's a very hard step.”

Bronson leaves behind her mother Taronza, her father Stevie, her 18-year-old sister Zyquiria and her 15-year-old brother Zayvien.

When announcing the 19-year-old's death, the Wichita Police Department released info for domestic violence victims and said they can seek help at www.tinyurl.com/KDVHelp.

To donate to the family’s GoFundMe, visit www.tinyurl.com/Zaiylah.