t 20, 2026 at 9:13 AM EDT | UPDATED: August 20, 2026 at 9:31 PM EDT
A woman stabbed in a Brooklyn park in front of her 7-year-old son was killed by a spurned suitor who became obsessed after just one date, according to the victim’s heartbroken mother.

Shakeema Davis was stabbed multiple times inside Lincoln Terrace Park in Crown Heights during an argument with her killer about 12:40 a.m. Tuesday, cops said. Davis, 30, had gone to the park to throw a big barbecue — and her young son witnessed everything that happened next.

The victim’s mother, 60-year-old Adra Pegues, said the killer recently went on a first date with her daughter and then became obsessed with Davis, who wasn’t interested in a second date.

Police investigate the fatal stabbing inside Lincoln Terrace Park in Brooklyn Tuesday. (Gardiner Anderson / New York Daily News)
“He wasn’t her type. Some people won’t take no for an answer,” Pegues said in an exclusive interview at her Harlem home. “She went out on a date and felt, ‘Oh no, not that one.’”

“I don’t have the words for him” she added. “He was a coward. A weak man. People like that aren’t supposed to be on earth.”

The killer has not been caught.

Shakeema Davis
Davis had gone to the park near Eastern Parkway and Buffalo Ave. to cook some food.

“She enjoyed grilling outdoors,” her mom said. “So she took her little wagon and set up her little tent. She was going to grill for her son and her best friend. She usually grills steak or chicken. She likes steak grilled over charcoal.”

As Davis was preparing the meal, her killer showed up.

Police investigate the fatal stabbing inside Lincoln Terrace Park in Brooklyn Tuesday. (Gardiner Anderson / New York Daily News)
“He wanted to go home with her and she said no,” said Pegues.

NYPD Chief of Detectives Joseph Kenny said the barbecue the victim threw began about 5 p.m., with a lot of people coming and going.

“We have several witness states that she receives a phone call from the eventual stabber, asking where the party is,” Kenny said Thursday.

“He shows up to the location. Throughout the course of the evening, everybody’s hanging out, drinking, smoking, listening to music. Our eventual stabber keeps soliciting her, our victim, for sex. She keeps saying no. They’re arguing. It’s verbal; it turns physical. After she throws a drink on him, he begins to assault her. She actually picks up the barbecue in an attempt to get him away from her and strikes him with the barbecue. Once he’s struck with the barbecue, he pulls out a knife and stabs her three times.”

“The victim and the stabber did have a prior relationship, which is why he was invited to the party, which is why he was consistently basically annoying her for sex,” Kenny added.

About 20 friends were still at the barbecue and witnessed the slaying, Kenny said.

“The people in the group actually tried to apprehend the perpetrator — but he started to swing the knife at them,” Kenny said.

One friend, who gave his name only as Freddie, described to PIX11 his efforts to save the victim.

Police investigate the fatal stabbing inside Lincoln Terrace Park in Brooklyn Tuesday. (Gardiner Anderson / New York Daily News)
“I took my shirt off and tied it around her to compress her wounds,” Freddie told the station. “I tried to save her and she took her last three breaths in my arms.”

Medics rushed Davis to Brookdale University Hospital, where she was pronounced dead 40 minutes later.

“She was a wonderful woman,” her mother said. “Her son is with me now. He witnessed it. He’s doing as well as can be expected.”

Shakeema Davis (Courtesy of Family)
The killer ran off north on Rochester Ave. and has not been caught.

The car the stabber got away in has been identified and Kenny says cops are developing a case against a suspect, who somebody on scene gave them a photo of.

“We’re very close to probable cause (to arrest) but we’re not there yet,” Kenny said.

NYPD released an image of a person wanted in connection of a homicide that occurred on Tuesday, August 18, 2026 in Brooklyn. (DCPI)
The NYPD late Thursday posted a surveillance image of a shirtless man wanted in connection with the killing and asked the public for help in finding him.

Davis’ mother is eager to see the killer punished.

“I want the same thing, what he did to her,” Pegues said. “I want that to happen to him.”

Davis was a graduate of Manhattan’s American Sign Language High School and worked as a home health aide. She was about to start caring for her brother, who suffers from stage-five kidney failure, her mother said.

Shakeema Davis (Facebook)
The victim lived about a half mile from the park where she was killed.

“She was so sweet, so kind,” said Pegues. “She liked to treat people good. I tried to instill in her that people will forget what you said, people forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.”

“That’s how she treated people,” she added. “But you can’t raise kids like that no more. The world is too cruel.”

Anyone with information regarding the suspect’s whereabouts is urged to call NYPD Crime Stoppers at (800) 577-TIPS. All calls will be kept confidential.