Arkia “Kia” Berry was doing what she loved most — raising her son and building a life one client at a time. At 28, the Birmingham hair stylist had turned her passion into a small business, specializing in children’s hairstyles and making kids feel beautiful in her chair. She posted selfies from dinner dates with herself, celebrated small wins, and documented every milestone of her five-year-old son Landyn Brooks with pure joy.

On Saturday, July 13, 2024, Kia, Landyn, and her boyfriend Eric Ashley Jr., also 28, climbed into her blue Nissan Maxima. What they thought would be a quick “business meeting” in the Echo Highlands neighborhood on Indian Summer Drive turned into a nightmare that claimed all three lives in minutes.

More than 20 bullets riddled the car. The vehicle jumped the curb and came to a stop in front of a stranger’s home. First responders found Kia, Landyn, and Eric dead at the scene around 5:30 p.m. The shooting was described as targeted and calculated — not random.

In her final moments, bleeding out beside her little boy, Kia didn’t call 911. She didn’t text her mother. Instead, she typed four letters into her phone and sent them to a friend: “Jaco.” That single word became the crucial clue that helped investigators identify the shooter.

A Mother’s Love and a Son’s Bright Future

Kia grew up in Birmingham and fell in love with doing hair as a little girl. After graduating from A.H. Parker High School, she earned her cosmetology license and built a loyal clientele. Friends and family remember her as vibrant, self-loving, and deeply devoted to Landyn. She took him on outings, cheered at his football games with the Wahouma Park 5U team, and lit up every room with her energy.

Landyn, just five, was an “old soul” with a contagious smile. Coaches called him the spark of the team — the kid who lifted everyone’s spirits. He was supposed to start kindergarten that fall. His father had been killed in 2020 when Landyn was only one, yet Kia worked hard to give her son stability and joy.

Eric Ashley Jr. had been in Kia’s life for nearly three years. He had recently served 30 months in federal prison on a fentanyl distribution charge and was trying to turn things around. On the morning of the shooting, phone records show Eric called a contact saved as “Jaco” and exchanged messages about meeting up.

The Setup That Turned Deadly

Surveillance from the neighborhood captured the sequence in chilling detail. A lime-green Kia Soul entered the area at 5:07 p.m. Kia’s Maxima followed one minute later. Interaction between the vehicles was brief. By 5:10 p.m., the green car sped away while Kia’s Maxima never left. It traveled only a short distance before crashing.

Shell casings littered the scene, with most gunfire concentrated on the passenger side where Eric sat. Investigators believe the meeting was arranged in advance — not a chance encounter. Jacorian Deshawn McGregor, 25, was later charged with capital murder in the deaths of all three.

Why bring a five-year-old to a business meeting? That question haunts the family and community. Some speculate it involved settling old debts or drug-related issues tied to Eric’s past, but the exact motive remains tied to the ongoing case.

The Final Text That Named the Shooter

Kia’s dying act — texting “Jaco” — gave detectives the break they needed. It linked directly to McGregor, whose full name is Jacorian Deshawn McGregor. The text was sent in her last moments as she sat beside her dying son. That courage in the face of death moved the entire city.

Family and friends gathered for vigils, remembering Kia’s warmth and Landyn’s infectious happiness. The triple homicide devastated the Echo Highlands community, a normally quiet area where children played in the park and families walked dogs.

Eric’s past added layers of complexity. Fresh from prison, he appeared to be rebuilding, yet his connection to McGregor pulled everyone into tragedy. Police described the shooting as targeted, suggesting the family was caught in something far bigger than a simple meetup.

Lasting Pain and Calls for Answers

The Birmingham community rallied around the victims’ families. Landyn’s coaches spoke of the light he brought to the field. Kia’s clients remembered a woman who made them feel seen and beautiful. Together they were three lives full of potential — a mother fighting to give her son better, a little boy with dreams of kindergarten and football, and a man trying for a second chance.

McGregor’s arrest came months later, in early 2025. As the capital murder case proceeds, questions linger about the exact nature of the “business” that day and why the family was placed in such danger.

This tragedy highlights the ripple effects of gun violence in Birmingham, the vulnerability of families caught in cycles of past mistakes, and the extraordinary courage of a mother who used her final breath to point investigators toward justice.

Kia’s last text — four simple letters — ensured her killer would not walk free easily. In a car filled with gunfire and loss, her final act was protection: for her son, for truth, and for the memory of the life they should have had.