Crime & Safety
'She Was My Greatest Protection' Woman Who Died in Jail Mourned
With sobs, psalms and song, family and friends remember the 37-year-old woman who died in a crowded cell begging for medical aid.
When Ashata Livingston tried to read her tribute to her sister who died in jail while pleading for medical help, she collapsed in sobs.
The shock and sorrow following 37-year-old Kyam Livingston's death in a crowded jail cell on July 21 permeated through her funeral Monday night at Le Gall Funeral Home on Empire Boulevard.
More than a hundred people came to the tearful event, held on what would have been the Stratford Road resident's 38th birthday. A happy birthday balloon fluttered at the front, right next to the open casket.
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Family friend Shanelle D. Jenkins sang a tribute while Livingston's mother wailed her grief.
Others remembered Livingston's vibrant, loving woman who brought huge bouquets of flowers to her mother—and not just on Mother's Day.
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"She was just a beautiful girl. Thanksgiving, Christmas, she made a big statement. I think they were closer than sisters," said Roslyn Briggs.
"She loved her son to death," said family friend Jernie Lawson.
Livingston attended Holy Innocents School on E. 17th St. followed by P.S. 181, Dyker Heights JHS and New Utrecht High School, where she graduated with honors.
She worked as a security officer and in 1992 gave birth to her son, Alexander Duncan.
Duncan told Patch that he is suing the city to make sure that Livingston's death leads to change.
Related Stories:
Funeral Set For Ditmas Park Woman Who Died in Police Custody
Witness: Cops Ignored Woman's Pleas For Help Before She Died in Jail
Still No Answers in Ditmas Park Woman's Jail Death
Ditmas Park Woman Dies in Police Custody
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