Emily Lizama Alvarez

Emily "Emy" Lizama Alvarez, a 20-year-old Hispanic woman with a love for cars, music, and spending time with her family, had her future stolen in a fatal shooting in west Charlotte, North Carolina. Born in Boston, Massachusetts, on May 22, 2004, Emily was a graduate of Olympic High School and had previously worked at Skechers. Her loved ones remember her enjoyment of gaming, speed racing, and trying different restaurants. Her life was tragically cut short in what prosecutors would later describe as a robbery set up to look like a drug transaction.

The deadly encounter happened on the afternoon of Saturday, February 8, 2025. According to the Mecklenburg District Attorney's Office, 14-year-old Jabari Walker arranged to meet Emily on Boone Street with the stated intention of a drug deal. However, cell phone data later revealed that Walker was communicating with gang members and planned to rob her. Around 1:25 p.m., when Emily arrived in her car, Walker shot into the vehicle. Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police officers responded to an "assault with a deadly weapon" call in the 2000 block of Vinton Street, where they found Emily's car had crashed. She was inside, suffering from a critical gunshot wound.

Paramedics rushed Emily to Atrium Health Carolinas Medical Center with life-threatening injuries. She fought for her life for four days before she succumbed to her injuries and was pronounced deceased on February 12, 2025. Her death turned the assault case into a homicide investigation, led by Detective Jones of the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department's Homicide Unit.

The investigation quickly led detectives to Jabari Walker. They obtained a secure custody order charging the juvenile with first-degree murder. At the time, Walker was already being held at the Stonewall Jackson Youth Development Center in Concord on an unrelated charge. Prosecutors later stated that after shooting Emily, Walker broke into a Charlotte home, stole a car, and was subsequently arrested in neighboring Cabarrus County.

In March 2026, Jabari Walker, who was 13 at the time of the crime, pleaded guilty to a downgraded charge of second-degree murder. A judge sentenced him to between 192 and 243 months in prison, a term of 16 to 20 years. Throughout the court proceedings, Walker was held at the Mecklenburg County jail on a $750,000 bond. After his conviction, he was transferred to a state prison in Morganton to serve his sentence. According to North Carolina prison records, his projected release date is in March 2041.

Emily's family held a visitation and funeral service for her in late February and early March 2025. She is survived by her parents, step-father, siblings, nephews, and numerous aunts, uncles, cousins, and friends who mourn the profound loss of a vibrant young woman. The case is now closed, having concluded with the conviction and sentencing of the person responsible for her death. While the legal process has delivered a measure of justice, it cannot erase the pain of those who knew and loved Emily Lizama Alvarez.