Mom of pregnant woman shot and killed speaks out: 'I think she knew the killer'

FOX 32 NEWS - A month ago this week, Chicago had its deadliest day of the year: seven people shot and killed.

This week, the mother of a pregnant woman who was shot that day would have become a grandmother.

Last month, relatives and friends joined Wilteeah Jones and her boyfriend Malik Bingham at a baby shower celebrating the upcoming birth of their first child. The baby girl was due this week, on March 23rd.

But now, the gifts received that day and this week's due date are stinging reminders of what happened four days after the shower.

FOX 32: Tell me what that date means for you now.

“I don't know, I really couldn't tell you that, it would have been a happy day for me, but now it's going to be a sad day for me. It's going to be very sad. And it's really horrific where I can't even celebrate my mom's birthday anymore, because my child was killed on my mom's birthday,” said Valerie Weaver Caldwell.

Not just her child, but her grandchild. The expectant couple had just left  a birthday party for Wilteeah's grandmother in the Chatham neighborhood when they were shot and killed. Malik was shot in his car and Wilteeah was found some distance  away, suggesting she had run from the killer. 

“I think she seen his face and she knew him. I think she knew the killer,” Weaver-Caldwell said.

Wilteeah's mother sensed something was wrong when the couple wasn't home by midnight. When police told her of the shootings, she ran into the street outside her home and was ready to end her own life.

“And I wanted somebody to take me, I wanted to go with her. 'Cuz she left me,” Weaver-Caldwell said.

Police say Malik Bingham had gang ties and a gun was found in his car. But Wilteeah's mom says Malik had become, in her words, a big teddy bear and was planning for the future.

“You start thinking like, wow, do I really want my child with this guy, but Malik grew on me, and I loved Malik like a son,” Weaver-Caldwell said.

Wilteeah's mother spends time every day passing out posters and seeking information about the killer. She still can't step foot in her late daughter's bedroom, or part with the gifts from the baby shower.

“We never had a tragedy in our family like this before. So I couldn't tell you from today til tomorrow how can I get past this.  The only way I can probably get some peace is somebody speak up. And then I can tell my kids, now you can rest in peace,” Weaver-Caldwell said.

Mrs. Weaver-Caldwell says she's not satisfied with the work done by police, although she does believe two detectives are working the case very hard. She's been told that so far, there are no leads.

Wilteeah's mother says her daughter was hoping to become a nurse.