Nursing Student, 23, Stabbed to Death Days Before Her Graduation: She 'Always Dreamed of Making a Difference'
A 23-year-old woman was killed and another man was injured during an attack at a Texas apartment last month
identified the woman, who often posted on TikTok about her life as a nursing student, as Tamilore Odunsi, and the man as her roommate
Odunsi was described as "a beautiful soul, full of light, ambition and kindness" in a GoFundMe page
Tamilore Odunsi moved overseas to Texas to get her degree, and she gained a following on TikTok for her relatable videos and study tips along the way. She was counting down the days to graduation when, just days before the big day, she was stabbed to death.
A 23-year-old female was killed in a southeast Houston apartment at around 3:50 p.m. local time on April 28, according to Houston Police. The Daily Mail later identified her as the British nursing student. A man — who The Daily Mail identified as Odunsi's roommate — was also critically injured in the stabbing, police said.
Officers found Odunsi and the man after arriving at the Texas apartment complex for a welfare check, police said. According to The Daily Mail, a friend of Odunsi's father had called the police after her family was unable to reach her.
After knocking on the door of the apartment and receiving no answer, the responding officers discovered blood on the rear patio and entered the unit.
Upon entry, they found Odunsi on the kitchen floor. She had suffered multiple stab wounds. Officers then located the man, who had at least one stab wound, in the bedroom, police said.
Odunsi was pronounced dead at the scene, and the man was hospitalized in critical condition.
Investigation into the stabbing is ongoing, Houston Police said. No suspects have been named.
A spokesperson for the Houston Police Department was not available to respond to PEOPLE's request for comment on Saturday, May 3.
Want to keep up with the latest crime coverage? Sign up for for breaking crime news, ongoing trial coverage and details of intriguing unsolved cases.
Prior to her death, Odunsi had been counting down to her graduation on TikTok, sharing videos about her experience as a nursing student to her over 30,000 followers on her account @tamidollars.
She also shared study tips and more personal content, including videos about her family and experience as a British student studying in the United States.
In her final TikTok video, posted April 21, Odunsi shared her excitement about her upcoming graduation, dancing alongside text that read: '23 years old,' 'BSN grad in 2 weeks,' 'Vacations booked,' 'Summer is 14 days away,' 'Starting to look human again.'
'I'm readyyyyyyyyyyyyy 🙂↕️,' she captioned the video.
Odunsi's death came 'just days before she was set to graduate from university,' according to a GoFundMe fundraiser that was created to raise money to return Odunsi's body to her family in the United Kingdom and cover funeral expenses.
Her death, the fundraiser adds, is 'an unimaginable loss at a moment that should have marked the beginning of a bright and promising future.'
The page also states that Odunsi — who was described as "a beautiful soul, full of light, ambition and kindness" — moved to the U.S. from the U.K. to 'pursue her dream of becoming a nurse, dedicating herself to a life of care and service."
'Tami had a special love for children and always dreamed of making a difference in young lives through her future work in healthcare,' the fundraiser continues. 'Outside of her studies, she brought joy to others through her love for creating content and expressing her vibrant personality.'
Read the original article on People
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
13 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Teen girl killed by pack of neglected dogs as she tried to help them, neighbors say
A teenage girl was killed in a 'horrific' attack by a pack of neglected dogs she had been caring for, authorities say. Makayla Fortner, 15, was mauled to death 'by multiple dogs' in an enclosed area at a home in the community of Alexander, Arkansas. Around 30 rescues lived on the property. Deputies from the Saline County Sheriff's Office said they were alerted to the attack around 12:15 p.m. Wednesday and arrived to find the teen already dead.n Fortne had previously been helping to care for the animals as well as working to find them permanent homes, officials said. With the assistance of Benton Animal Services, deputies seized multiple dogs from the property. The dogs were a mix of pit bulls, pit bull crossbreeds, and hounds, Benton Animal Services spokesperson Matt Thibault told the Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette. Officials told the newspaper that 14 dogs were euthanized in the wake of the incident. Investigators said they are looking into how the 'sudden and tragic' attack unfolded. Neighbors told ABC affiliate KATV said Fortner was attempting to feed the dogs before the deadly attack. Ralph Murphy said that he witnessed a deputy fire two shots from a pistol to disperse some of the animals as he headed towards the victim. 'And then he walked over and looked down and turned around and walked back, and so I moved and I saw a body on the ground,' he said. A friend of the victim's mother, Stephanie Wilkie, launched a GoFundMe page to support the family and help cover funeral expenses. 'On behalf of my dear friend Stephanie Wilkie, I am heartbroken to share the devastating news that her beloved 15-year-old daughter, Makayla Fortner, tragically passed away following a horrific dog attack,' organizer Erin Bowman wrote. 'This unimaginable loss has left her family in deep shock, grief, and emotional pain.' Bowman described Fortner as 'a beautiful, bright girl with the kindest soul who had so much life ahead of her.' Just days before the attack, Wilkie posted on Facebook that she and her daughter were looking after a litter of more than 40 puppies at the home of an elderly couple. 'So like normal, found myself in a hoarding situation of an older couple in their 80s with too many dogs,' she wrote on June 8, adding that there are 'puppies everywhere, 40+ and a litter born today.' Neighbors said that they have complained multiple times about the dogs being uncontrolled and running away from the property. 'These dogs were very vicious at the fence to the point that no one wanted to let their children walk to and from the bus stop,' White Oak Drive resident Heidi Clay said. "And if somebody had done something, then maybe this little girl would be alive.'
Epoch Times
32 minutes ago
- Epoch Times
The Heart Behind the US Army's 250 Years of Service
'For God's sake, fire!' A return volley of musket and rifle fire boomed across the Concord River near the North Bridge. 'The shot heard round the world' had just been unleashed upon the 220 British soldiers by the colonial militia and minutemen. The volley sent the British retreating to Concord and then to Lexington, where they had earlier fired upon and dispersed the 70 local militia, killing eight and wounding 10. Their return to Lexington would be the start of a 12-mile scramble back to Boston. Throughout the night of April 18 and the early morning hours of April 19, 1775, word had spread in the Boston area that the British were coming to confiscate or destroy the locals' gunpowder and materiel in Concord. By the time British soldiers reached the North Bridge, hundreds of militia members were out in force. By the time the British began their retreat back to Boston, thousands descended upon them, firing from behind trees, stone walls, houses, and buildings. What began as an act of suppression by imperial troops turned into a route by a mass of colonial volunteers.
40 minutes ago
Men who stole $6M golden toilet from English mansion sentenced to prison
LONDON -- Two men who stole a $6.4 million golden toilet from an English mansion were sentenced Friday to more than two years in prison. The 18-carat fully functioning toilet was on display as a piece of contemporary art at Blenheim Palace — the country mansion where British wartime leader Winston Churchill was born — when five burglars smashed a window and yanked it from its plumbing in a brazen early morning raid in September 2019. It was never recovered and was believed to have been chopped up and sold. James Sheen, 40, a roofer who pleaded guilty to burglary, conspiracy and transferring criminal property was sentenced in Oxford Crown Court to four years in prison. Michael Jones, 39, who worked for Sheen and was convicted of burglary at trial, was sentenced to two years and three months. The toilet weighed just over 215 pounds (98 kilograms) and was worth more than its weight in gold. The value of the gold at the time was 2.8 million ($3.5 million), but it was insured for 4.7 million pounds (more than $6 million). The toilet was part of a satirical commentary on consumer culture, titled 'America,' by Italian conceptual artist Maurizio Cattelan, whose work of a banana duct-taped to a wall was sold in 2024 for $6.2 million at auction in New York. 'This bold and brazen heist took no more than 5 1/2 minutes to complete,' Judge Ian Pringle said in recounting the crime. 'America has never been seen again.' The piece that poked fun at excessive wealth had previously been on display at The Guggenheim Museum, in New York, which had offered the work to U.S. President Donald Trump during his first term in office after he had asked to borrow a Van Gogh painting. Jones had booked a viewing of the toilet the day before the theft to take photos, check out the lock and have his own private session on the golden throne. He deemed the experience 'splendid' during his testimony. The next morning before dawn the gang of thieves crashed through the wooden gates of the palace in two stolen vehicles and tore well-tended lawns. They pulled up to the estate's courtyard and smashed a window that Jones had photographed the day before. The thieves used sledgehammers and a crowbar to wrench the toilet from its foundation, causing considerable damage to the 18th-century property, a UNESCO World Heritage site filled with valuable art and furniture that draws thousands of visitors each year.
