Man charged after allegedly killing Washington Heights mother, leaving her body alone with young daughter

According to police sources, 41-year-old Tiliek Thompson turned himself in at the 33rd Precinct on Saturday. Detectives had sought him since Sept. 6 after cops were called to 535 West 156 St. for a wellness check. When officers arrived at about 1:36 p.m. and tried to enter the home, 7-year-old Delani opened the door and greeted them.

Inside, the NYPD discovered 27-year-old Lovay Williams unresponsive, lying on a bed. She had been severely beaten and strangled. EMS pronounced her dead at the scene. According to comments made by the family to the New York Daily News, the child curled up to her mother and slept, unaware that she was dead.

“My granddaughter just laid next to my daughter as if my daughter was ‘asleep,” NuQuan Williams, told the outlet. “Because she don’t know her mother is dead.”

A GoFundMe account created to raise money for little Delani as she grows up without her mother described the emotional trauma.

“Delani witnessed something no child should ever have to see. In a single, devastating moment, her childhood was changed forever. She witnessed the tragic loss of her mother,” part of the fundraiser read. “Delani should be worried about school, playing with her friends, laughing, dreaming, and simply being a little girl. Instead, she is facing the unimaginable reality of growing up without her mother and living with memories of a traumatic event that she may carry with her for the rest of her life.”

While police have yet to state exactly what they believe sparked the deadly attack, they did report that they believe it to have been domestic in nature.

Thompson was slapped with a laundry list of charges Saturday evening, including Murder, three counts of Assault, Strangulation, Criminal Obstruction of Breathing, two counts of Harassment, Petit Larceny, Child Abandonment, and Acting in Manner Injurious to a Child. He had two prior arrests for drug and assault related offenses.