LYNCHBURG, Va. – Lynchburg mother Avriel Hooks disappeared on Aug. 22. Now one week later, a man has been arrested for her murder, and her family is grieving her death.
”She was a fighter,” Hooks’ mother Ashley Pittman said.
A desperate search ended in tragedy as Lynchburg police confirmed the murder of 20-year-old Avriel Hooks Tuesday night.
This comes after a nearly week-long disappearance.
Pittman says that faith keeps her hanging on.
“By the grace of God. He’s had us this whole time,” Pittman said.
Police arrested Michael L. Perry III in connection with her murder, after a body was found off of U.S. 60 in Amherst.
He is being charged with second-degree murder and unlawful disposal of a body.
”We can turn this around and we can get this right and we can help mothers in the future,” Pittman said.
Pittman says that Perry is the father of Hooks’ child. A child that she says Hooks loved like no other.
”Oh wow...words can’t describe. There’s not a word invented for the kind of love she had for him,” she said.
Hooks’ mother issued a word of encouragement for other women. ”If you’re in an abusive situation, don’t let him think, or her, don’t let anyone think people don’t care,” she said.
The family says they will always keep Hooks’ memory alive for her son.
”We’re not gonna let him not know...he will always know,” Pittman said.
A fundraiser to cover funeral services for Hooks, and care for her son, can be found here.