Mother of Fort Myers murder-suicide victim shooting speaks

The mother of a woman killed in a weekend murder-suicide in Fort Myers is speaking about the incident and her daughter.

On Saturday, a domestic dispute turned into a murder-suicide in Fort Myers, according to the family of the victim.

Monday morning, the victim’s mother spoke with WINK News about her daughter, Takisha Best, while urging others to learn from this tragic story.

Tracey Best said her 35-year-old daughter was a mother of three children, including 11-year-old twin girls and a 20-year-old son.

The family named Darrell Rowe as the killer. Fort Myers police did not confirm Rowe as the suspect but they did say they found the body of a man nearby who died from an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound.

Tracy Best gave cautionary advice for people who might experience a similar situation as her daughter.

“If you are done with a person, keep them far away from you, because you never know what someone will do after the relationship is over,” Best said.

Best told WINK News she knew her daughter’s ex-boyfriend for 15 years and she saw the warning signs, but she never thought he was capable of killing her daughter and then turning the gun on himself.

Takisha is described as a hard-working mother who loved her children. She was known by those who love her as “Mamie.”

Best said her daughter lived at her home and she split from her boyfriend more than a month ago.

She learned Rowe threatened Takisha a week ago.

“They may seem like a nice person, but you don’t know what people would do when it comes down to your life, and if anybody threatens you, you better take that for real,” Best said. “Don’t take no threats lightly ’cause it happened to my daughter … It’s just so sad. I never felt a pain like this one though. When it’s your child is something totally different.”

Fort Myers police declined to say when detectives will release the name of the suspect.