A woman told her sister to "plan her funeral" two days before she was brutally murdered.
LaVentrice Denise “Vent” Tolbert, 40, was killed late on September 24 inside a residence on Kiser Road in Birmingham, Alabama, by 35-year-old Tony Dewayne Davis, who then turned the gun on himself.
Davis died two days later in the hospital from a self-inflicted gunshot wound, Law and Crime reported.
According to outlets, police confirmed the incident was a domestic-related murder-suicide, marking a tragic end to what family members described as a long and abusive relationship.
A chilling prediction
LaVentrice's sister, Monique Tolbert, said the two had been visiting on a break from their jobs at Birmingham’s Top Golf when the unsettling conversation took place.
“She told me, ‘When I leave, you will be the one to plan my funeral,’” she recalled, cited by AL.
“She wanted me to be strong.”
Monique said she didn’t want to believe what she was hearing.
“I told her that’s not something I wanted to talk about. I went inside, and she hugged me and told me she loved me.”
Two days later, the distraught sister received the call she’d been dreading. “I got the worst phone call of my life.”
Seven years of abuse
According to police and family statements, LaVentrice and Davis had been together for about seven years.
Monique said the relationship had been abusive from the beginning, and she had repeatedly urged her sister to leave.
“I was afraid this would happen,” Monique said.
“I had been telling her she needed to get away.”
Sgt. LaQuitta Wade of the Birmingham Police Department confirmed that the couple had a history of domestic incidents.
Final moments inside the home
Police were dispatched to the home on Kiser Road at 11:47PM after a report of a shooting.
Officers were informed that both the victim and the shooter were still inside.
When they entered, they found LaVentrice dead at the scene.
Davis was found wounded in a bedroom and transported to UAB Hospital, where he later died.
Another resident of the home, who had been sleeping upstairs, told investigators she awoke to gunfire.
When she came downstairs, she saw Davis with a gun to his head, telling her he was “not going back to jail.”
She then discovered LaVentrice’s body on the stairs.
No other injuries were reported.
LaVentrice was a graduate of Parker High School and had worked as a general manager at Family Dollar for nearly a decade before recently taking a position as a cook at Top Golf, where she and Monique worked side-by-side.
“She was the life of the party," Monique said.
She was also a beloved aunt to nearly a dozen nieces and nephews.
“It’s been hard on them, so I’m trying to stay strong,” the heartbreaking sister added.
A vigil and balloon release were held at Birmingham’s City Walk.
Her funeral took place Saturday at Greater Grace Baptist Church on Center Point Parkway.
Monique is now speaking out in hopes her sister’s story will encourage others to leave abusive relationships before it’s too late.
“I want to tell anyone else in this situation to seek help, talk to somebody, let them know what’s going on,” she said.
“My sister would talk to me and I would tell her, ‘Love don’t supposed to hurt.’”
“She would tell me that she loved him, and I didn’t understand,” Monique continued, adding that she wants LaVentrice to be remembered "not for how her life ended, but for how she lived".
Our thoughts are with LaVentrice's loved ones at this time.