Mom’s life cut short
Shot in home, husband questioned
A 38-year-old woman was shot dead inside her Staten Island house early Thursday, and officers later questioned her husband in the case, a police source said.
Nikia Webster was shot in the head at about 12:50 a.m. inside her home on South Ave. near Arlington Place in Mariners Harbor, cops said. She died at the scene.
The couple’s two teenage sons, who were home at the time, are not suspects, said police sources. Her husband was identified by a police source and relatives as Kevin Smith, 41.
Webster’s relatives said that her husband had contacted a lawyer. He was picked up by police as he left his lawyer’s office in Brooklyn, the police source said.
The slain woman’s family saw no signs of strife in her seven-year marriage. “They were a happy couple. When I saw them on Sunday they were fine — they were happy, we were all happy,” Webster’s grandmother, Alice Webster, 84, told he Daily News.
“We went to her mother’s grave. We sang, we read the Bible, we came back and had dinner. Everything was fine,” Webster said.
The dead woman posted a video of that visit on Facebook. It was her final public post.
“My mom passed away 25 years ago,” she wrote. “It was a bitter sweet day. We celebrated her life and my family got together to remember my mom. I love you mommy!”
Smith and his family joined her at the cemetery, Alice Webster said.
“As far as I know he [Smith] was okay. I don’t know what happened,” she said. “I don’t know why they had a gun in the house. How can they have a gun in the house and two young kids? He wasn’t a violent guy, not that I know of. He was always nice to me.”
Smith posted a photo of himself at a firing range on Instagram Oct. 7.
A next-door neighbor, who gave his name as Harry, said Webster and her family kept to themselves and showed no outward signs of trouble.
“They’ve lived there for the last seven years,” Harry said. “This is out of the ordinary. He [Smith] comes, he goes, he’ll speak to people, hello, how you doing. This is out of the ordinary. I never saw them fight.”
But one conversation between Webster’s relatives and Smith stood out, said the victim’s uncle, Michael Webster.
In that incident, some of Webster’s relatives pulled Smith aside to say, “If you ever have any arguments with her, just cool down and don’t put your hands on her.” The uncle said he didn’t know the context that led to the exchange.
“I’m still shocked, I’m shocked,” Michael Webster said, as other family members sobbed nearby in their Brooklyn home.
“You see it happen to other people on the news but you don’t think it’d affect your family. Now we have to plan for the funeral,” he added.
He said he watched Webster grow up, and described her as kindhearted, with a passion for family, cooking and going to barbecues.
“She was outgoing. I used to take her to the park. I used to take her to movies and concerts, stuff like that,” Michael Webster said.
Webster posted a video of herself during a trip to a park on Sept. 7, hoping to share an inspiring message to her friends.
“Life is definitely short so you have to live every day to the fullest,” she said. You have to live every day to the fullest. Do the most that you can do in one day. Never put it off until tomorrow.”