A South Florida family is still struggling to comprehend how their 3-year-old relative remained trapped alone with her father's body for more than a day after he was gunned down in the stairwell of his Philadelphia apartment.
Armone Stanley, a 34-year-old dad of two, was reportedly shot 19 times in cold blood last Wednesday, while his young daughter Aryana helplessly hid in a closet. Stanley, who was carrying luggage downstairs when someone opened fire, was preparing to send his daughter back home on a flight to South Florida. The young girl stayed at the residence for 30 hours, until the family in Florida grew worried and called the landlord for help.
Too young to really understand what happened, Aryana told police and her family what she saw. Her great-grandmother Eloise Bryant still remembers what she said.
"'My daddy was sleep, and I went down to wake him up, but he wouldn't wake up,"' Bryant said.
Bryant wonders why help did not arrive sooner.
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"Why didn't nobody walk down the stairs and see him lying there? He stayed there all day and all night, and my baby was up there in the closet hungry,” she said.
Over the weekend, Pennsylvania authorities released Aryana to her mother, Anna Cassieri.
Stanley had been living in Philadelphia for about three years, and while there, he was arrested for his ties to an identity theft ring. But just as his family says he was turning his life around, it was tragically cut short.
"It hurt me so bad, I still can't stop crying," Bryant said.
Stanley's wake is set for Friday, and his funeral will be Saturday at noon. Both events will be held at the True Tabernacle Church in Fort Lauderdale.
Philadelphia detectives said they continue to track leads they hope will bring them to Stanley's killer.
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