Murdered Cleburne 18-year-old remembered at candlelight vigil Sunday

CLEBURNE, Texas - Dozens of people attended a candlelight vigil on Sunday for an 18-year-old who was shot and killed last weekend in Cleburne.

Kaylee Merchant's family and friends will gather at Hulen Park in Cleburne to remember the girl's life.

Family members say Merchant was on her way to her brother's 7th birthday party when she was shot last Sunday.

Summer Guillory, Merchant's mother, said she was supposed to meet her daughter at the party.

Instead, she got a call from police telling her to go to the hospital.

"Every day I wake up it’s like I lost her all over again. Every day," said Guillory. 

According to Cleburne Police, Merchant was a passenger in a white SUV when she was shot on Poindexter Avenue.

Police responded to the shooting scene and a second location where they found Merchant injured inside the SUV.

She was taken to the hospital where she later died.

"She touched a lot of people’s lives, made a lot of people laugh, smile, cry. She was my baby," Guillory said through tears.

The family says Merchant was in the SUV with her boyfriend at the time of the shooting.

Giovanni Jimenez Diaz

The suspect drove off and was on the run until Friday when police arrested Giovanni Jimenez Diaz and charged him with murder.

Merchant's family says they've never heard of the suspect and do not recognize him.

"All I can think about is my baby is gone. My baby was taken from me and there’s no justifiable answer," said Guillory. 

Cleburne police say there was an altercation that led up to the shooting, but they didn't go into detail about what the altercation was about.

On Sunday night, dozens of friends and loved ones came together to remember Merchant's life.

Together they lit candles, shared stories and released balloons in her honor.

"This isn’t the end of her story. My beautiful baby isn’t someone who was just shot. She was more than that to anybody that knew her. If you knew her it was to love her," Guillory said.