Francis Villa of Jersey City, New Jersey was a “bubbly” person who deeply loved her family and those who knew her.

 “She was always the person that not just loved to help others, she loved to see her progress in helping others,” her brother, Andre Villa, told The Jersey Journal newspaper.

About 6 p.m.on Monday, August 31, 2020,  officers with the Jersey City Police Department were called to apartment where they found Francis’ lifeless body. She had been shot in the head.

The 22-year-old’s death was written up as a suicide based on the report given to police by Jaishawn Gaston, the victim’s 26-year-old boyfriend. 

Gaston initially told authorities that when he had arrived at the apartment, his girlfriend was dead. But days later, the shooting death was classified as “suspicious.”

For one, the Hudson County Prosecutor’s Office said in a press release that Villa was shot in “the upper body.”

But Villa’s family said she had been shot right in the middle of her forehead, which they thought was strange.“Who shoots themself in the head, like, dead on to the head?” Andre Villa, Francis' brother, told the newspaper.  “She’s got to have elastic arms and a real powerful ... wrist.”

Furthermore, the family learned that Villa, who went by the name “Frannie,” also had nearly a shut black eye and bruises.

“This was not suicide,” Samantha Roman, the victim’s sister-in-law told The Journal. “... It needs to get screamed from the top of the mountains. She had no voice.”

On September 14, 2020, the Regional Medical Examiner’s Office deemed Francis Villa’s death a homicide. One day later, Gaston turned himself in to the authorities.

He is facing a litany of charges, including:First-degree murderPossession of a firearm for unlawful purposeUnlawful possession of a weapon.

Domestic Violence Resources

• Resources For Women By State

• National Domestic Hotline: 1-800-799-SAFE (7233), or 1-800-787-3224 (TTY)

• VictimConnectSearch: Domestic Violence And Abuse Shelters

• National Coalition Against Domestic Violence