Lemmarra Bradshaw, 18, was killed March 9 in Rhawnhurst, and her boyfriend now faces charges as her family mourns two deaths.
PHILADELPHIA, Pa. — An 18-year-old pregnant woman was shot and killed in Northeast Philadelphia on March 9, and her 29-year-old boyfriend has been charged with voluntary manslaughter in a case that has drawn attention to a volatile relationship and conflicting accounts of what happened inside a Rhawnhurst home.
Lemmarra Bradshaw was pregnant with her second child and already raising a 4-year-old daughter when she died Monday night on the 7000 block of Langdon Street. Police arrested Robert Tatum after the shooting, and court proceedings began two days later. The case matters now because it has moved from a neighborhood homicide to an active criminal matter, while Bradshaw’s family says the killing followed weeks of abuse and instability that ended with the loss of both the young woman and her unborn baby.
Authorities say the shooting happened Monday night in the Rhawnhurst section of the city, a residential area in Northeast Philadelphia. Bradshaw, 18, was found after gunfire erupted during an argument, and investigators later filed charges against Tatum, 29. By Wednesday, March 11, he had appeared for a preliminary arraignment. A preliminary hearing is scheduled for March 30. Bradshaw’s mother, Michelle Adekola, described the shock in plain terms. “My whole world is shattered right now,” she said in a television interview as relatives gathered to grieve and try to understand how a dispute turned deadly.
Police records and published reports say Tatum is charged with voluntary manslaughter, possessing an instrument of crime with intent and recklessly endangering another person. A reported account from investigators says Tatum claimed Bradshaw came at him with a knife and a screwdriver before he shot her. That account has not resolved the central dispute in the case, and prosecutors have not publicly laid out a full narrative of the encounter. Family members strongly reject the idea that the killing can be explained by a sudden act of self-defense. They say the relationship had become increasingly tense and controlling. Bradshaw’s aunt said Tatum had struck her in the face about two weeks earlier and then persuaded her to return to him. The aunt said his behavior was driven by jealousy and anger, while Bradshaw’s mother said she is still struggling with the feeling that she could not protect her daughter.
Relatives and investigators also differ on what sparked the final argument. One reported account from investigators said the fight involved a hamster that Adekola had bought for Bradshaw’s young daughter days earlier. Bradshaw’s aunt said the real cause was alleged infidelity by Tatum. Those versions are not minor details in a homicide case. They shape how police, prosecutors and the court may view motive, intent and the level of tension inside the relationship before the shooting. For Bradshaw’s relatives, the dispute over motive matters less than what they see as a larger pattern. They say the relationship had changed in the weeks before the killing and had become more volatile. Bradshaw had been dating Tatum for several years, according to family members, despite the 11-year age gap between them. Their descriptions of the relationship have added a wider emotional frame to a case that otherwise sits in the early, fact-finding stage of the criminal process.
The legal track is clearer than many of the personal details. Tatum was arrested soon after the shooting and brought before the court for a preliminary arraignment on March 11. The next listed milestone is a preliminary hearing on March 30, when a judge will consider whether prosecutors have shown enough evidence to move the case forward. A voluntary manslaughter charge usually signals that investigators and prosecutors are not, at least at this stage, alleging premeditated murder. But charging decisions can change as evidence is tested, witnesses are interviewed and forensic records are reviewed. It remains unclear what physical evidence was recovered at the scene, whether other witnesses were present during the shooting, and whether prosecutors intend to pursue additional or amended counts. Police also have not publicly answered detailed questions about the sequence of events in the final moments before Bradshaw was shot.
For Bradshaw’s family, the criminal case sits beside a much more personal loss. They say she leaves behind a 4-year-old daughter, and they have spoken publicly not only about the death of Bradshaw but also about the unborn baby she was carrying. In a memorial statement circulated by relatives, the family called the loss devastating and said her death left a deep void in the lives of people who loved her. Adekola said her daughter’s death was another crushing blow for a family that has already buried other children in recent years. “He tore my heart in pieces,” she said, describing the pain of losing a daughter who, in her view, should have been safe. The details of the criminal case will unfold in court, but in the neighborhood and within the family, the immediate picture is already set: a teenager is dead, a child is left without her mother, and the questions around the shooting are now headed into the legal system.
As of Sunday, March 15, Tatum remained charged and awaiting his next court date, with a preliminary hearing scheduled for March 30. Investigators have not publicly released a fuller case summary, and the next major step is expected to come when the evidence is outlined in court.
Author note: Last updated March 15, 2026.