Police have identified the victim of yesterday’s murder suicide in the parking lot of the Wayne Junction train station.
Vanessa
Watson, 26, of the 3700 block of North 18th Street in Tioga, was an
aspiring model who went by the stage name Vanessa Banks. She walked the
runway at New York’s Fall Fashion Week for designer Hally McGehean in
September, recently participated in BET’s Rip the Runway and appeared in
numerous photo shoots and music videos.
“I just remember her
being real vibrant, real hungry as far as wanting to break into the
scene and I really admired that because she was a go-getter,” said
friend and designer Simon Carr of Punchline Clothing. “She really wanted
to make an impact and she did.” He said that her drive prompted her to
do anything to make it to a job, whether it meant traveling out of town
on the spur of the moment or bringing her young daughter to rehearsals.
Police
said Watson was shot and killed by Luis McCrea, who then turned the gun
on himself. McCrea was a possessive lover, according to friends, and
Watson’s ambitions threatened him. “She knew a lot of people in the
industry and she was really getting out there. I think that was a
hindrance,” Carr said, recalling an event at which Watson was unable to
talk with him because McCrea was jealously watching her from across the
room. “It was just really detrimental.”
Friends are currently planning a benefit fundraiser for Watson’s three surviving children.
Several fan and memorial pages and numerous photo tributes to Watson were already set up on Facebook this morning, with scores of friends, family and fans commenting about the woman’s beauty, both inside and out.
