Candlelight vigil held for mom of 5 shot to death in Winter Garden parking lot
During a candlelight vigil and balloon release Tuesday night, Arlene Mathis told her family to find forgiveness against the person or people who murdered her niece, Bowonna Rodgers.
"Bowonna was a person that was full of wisdom and knowledge and Bowonna was very smart, very wise when it came down to her religion and her love for God,” said Arlene Mathis, Bowonna’s aunt.
At 1:30 a.m. Monday, Rodgers was shot in a vacant parking lot at the corner of Woodland Street and East Story Road in Winter Garden.
She was last seen near her home in Orlando just after midnight where she lived with her boyfriend and wasn't known to visit Winter Garden.
Rodgers' mother doesn’t know who is responsible for her daughter’s murder and is hoping anyone with information will come forward.
"I do not know. All I can think is that someone set my child up," Dinah Rodgers said.
The shooting is out of the ordinary for the quiet neighborhood where it happened. Residents say they heard a loud man's voice, then at least five consecutive gunshots.
The news was hard for Rodgers' family, who have had to bury four other relatives within the last few months from COVID-19 and other illnesses.
"It has really brought us back together, closer as a family, but God won't put more on us than we can bear. We were built for this and as a family, we are going to make it through this," Mathis said.
Rodgers leaves behind five children, her youngest is just 4 years old.
"Knowing that she will never be able to walk down the aisle with he mom watching her. Knowing that when she graduates school, her mom won't be there," Mathis said of Rodgers' little girl.
Winter Garden police have not named anyone a person of interest in the case, but continue to follow up on leads.