You Chose This Man Dear!
By: Tommy “Tj” Sotomayor

Day’zshia McKinley

GoFundMe

A Texas man has been accused of killing his ex-girlfriend on the doorstep of her her Fort Worth apartment while her three young children were inside.

Christopher Jaren Manning, 29, of Grand Prairie, has been charged with murder, according to Tarrant County Jail records obtained by PEOPLE.

His arrest comes more than a year after 27-year-old Day’zshia McKinley was fatally shot outside her apartment’s front door on April 21, 2018, leaving behind her three young boys, ages 5, 3 and 18 months, the Fort Worth Star-Telegram reports.

Since her death, McKinley’s family suspected Manning of her alleged murder. According to her mother, Yvette Robson, McKinley and Manning dated twice before she broke up with him in late 2017.

“She told me he wasn’t a good role model for the boys,” Robson told the Star Telegraph on Monday, noting that she herself was scared of Manning. “He kind of stalked her after they broke up.”

Christopher Jaren Manning

Tarrant County Jail

Moments before she was shot, McKinley had answered the door and stepped outside into the apartment complex’s breezeway, Robson said. Neighbors reported hearing a fight before shots were fired. Inside her apartment, just feet away, were her three sons.

“I honestly believe that she came out of the house to keep him from getting in the house with the kids,” Robson told NBC in 2018.

They now are being raised by Robson.

On Friday, Robson, a social services worker, will be hosting a benefit for victims of domestic violence with proceeds going to SafeHaven of Tarrant County, in honor of her daughter. This is the second fundraiser she has organized, the first being in 2018.

“We cover such things as what happens when you’re in a violent relationship,” Robson told the Star-Telegram. “And the grief.”

Manning was arrested last month and remains behind bars in Tarrant County Jail on a $100,000 bail, according to jail records. It is unclear whether he has an attorney to comment on his behalf.