As 1-Pound Baby Clings to Life, Police Arrest Men Suspected of Shooting Her Mom to Death

Arrests were made Saturday in the Christmas Day shooting death of 17-year-old Eva Casara, whose one-pound baby girl delivered after the shooting still clings to life.

Two brothers from Dolton — Anthony Lee, 16, and Diante Coakley, 21, are now charged with first-degree murder, and police are hunting for a third suspect, according to Dolton police Chief John Franklin. On Sunday, Lee and Coakley were held without bail.

Police told the Chicago Tribune Casara was struck by a bullet during a drug deal gone bad. Lee was Casara's boyfriend, police said.

In court Sunday, prosecutors said Casara and the brothers were setting someone up for a robbery. She got into the car with the target of the robbery, but when the driver pulled away, the brothers opened fire unaware Casara was sitting in the back seat. S

Casara was found in a puddle of blood in the snow between two houses in the 1100 block of East 152nd Street in Dolton. Police said Casara was dumped there by the driver after she was shot in the back of the head. She was 26 weeks pregnant. The baby was born weighing 1 pound, 5 ounces.

The South Suburban Major Crimes Task Force joined the Dolton Police in the investigation. A surveillance camera nearby was pointed at the scene, according to police. ABC 7 News reported that shell casings were found at the shooting site.

The girl was living in Chicago Lawn with her grandmother. Her mother lives in Calumet City.

Estrellita Casara, the slain girl's mother, spoke with news reporters Thursday.

"My princess. I miss her so much," Casara said. "Everywhere she goes, she just lights up the place. She's as beautiful inside as she is outside."

Family members say the newborn baby girl, being cared for by doctors and nurses in the neonatal intensive care unit at Advocate Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn, will be named Lailani Paris Casara, a name her mother picked out.

Posted Friday, Dec. 27; updated Sunday, Dec. 29

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