It’s been a year since four young sisters in Flora, Indiana, were killed when someone set their house ablaze. The Nov. 21, 2016, fire killed 11-year-old Keyana “KeKe” Davis, 9-year-old Keyara “Grandma” Phillips, 7-year-old Kerriele “Kari” McDonald and 5-year-old Kionnie “Peedle” Welch. It also injured their mother and two others.
The girls’ loved ones are still looking for justice, and a group of community members has banded together to help in that pursuit.
Flora’s 4 Angels, a nine-person committee of the Flora Community Club, has raised about $11,000 so far toward a reward fund created to encourage people with information about the crime to come forward.
Committee member Joyce Simpson said the group has hosted a car show, organized pizza fundraisers and more to raise the money. Currently, the group is selling cookbooks that include more than 200 recipes from members of 11 churches in Flora. The cookbooks are $10 each, and Simpson — who spearheaded the cookbook project — said they’re selling fast. So far, the books have brought in $4,000, and Simpson said she’s placing another order and hopes to be restocked in time for Christmas.
In addition to including some of the girls’ favorite recipes, the cookbook has a message from their mother, Gaylin Rose.
“Never in a million years would a mother think she would have to bury all of her children. Even more horrifying is the fact I had to bury all of my beautiful babies at the same time,” Rose’s message says. “They were happy little girls whose smiles and energy could light up a room. Their energy and love kept me striving to give them the good life.”
Simpson said she remembers experiencing that energy and love.
“You would go by their house and they would be outside playing, and they’d wave,” she said. Simpson and her husband have an especially fond memory involving Keyara.
“Last year, we went out to the school for Veterans Day, and she gave him a card for and thanked him for serving, and she said she loved him and gave him a hug, and that’s the last time we saw her. It really touched our hearts.”
Follow Flora’s 4 Angels’ progress online by searching “Flora’s 4 Angels” on Facebook. To purchase a cookbook, call Joyce Simpson at 574-967-4858. Tips about the crime can be called in to 800-382-4628.
To make a donation
Write checks payable to Flora Community Club with Flora’s 4 Angels in the memo line, and mail to Flora’s 4 Angels Reward Fund, c/o 1st Farmers Bank, 27 W. Main St., Flora, IN 46929.
Flora’s 4 Angels
