KALAMAZOO – Laurie Smith lost both her husband and son, after they were both killed in a mass murder Saturday night in Kalamazoo, Michigan.
Smith took to Facebook to share the pain of losing her 17-year-old son, and 53-year-old husband:
My precious baby boy...taken away before he even graduated from high school...I am so grateful to have been blessed with a sweet, caring, witty, handsome boy for almost 18 years....so proud of who he had become as a young man. I miss you, bud 😢 and love you more than life itself.
Sharing these photos of my beautiful family...I love them more than anything in the universe and am lost without my boys.
She also posted:
"Laying in bed trying to comprehend what has happened in the past 24+ hrs...wishing its all a bad dream and they'll be here when i wake up. 💔 I want to thank everyone for the unbelievable outpouring of care, concern, love, prayer , meals, help....and everything that you've shown me and my family. I am numb....I don't know what to say or do and so i wanted to make sure everyone knows how much we appreciate everything...because I am often not thinking clearly and may not say it when i should. Thank you all for your support as Em and I and our whole family try to figure out how to go on after losing our son, grandson, brother, cousin, nephew, friend, husband, soulmate, uncle, daddy, son-in-law, love of my life..."
Her son, Tyler, was a senior at Mattawan High School.
Smith also posted a message directed to her daughter, Emily:
My darling Emily, my heart is shattered, literally and utterly crushed into tiny pieces when i think about your having lost your daddy and baby brother. I want nothing more than to be able to bring them both back here so we can continue being a family....and daddy can walk you down the isle some day and he and your brother can share life with you and me again. I've never prayed so hard in my life as i did when i was dialing 911 Sunday at 1:45am when neither of them were home when i got home. My heart sunk when i opened our bedroom door and your daddy wasn't there and went downstairs and Ty wasn't there. I prayed so hard that the 911 operator would confirm that it wasn't them at Seeyle...but that wasn't the case. I promise and vow with every ounce of energy and love that i have that i will take care of you and will be there for you and will devote myself to making life as awesome as i can for you. It won't be anywhere near what having your daddy and brother here would be...but i love you, sweets, more than life itself and you will always be able to count on me....forever yours...pinky promise. I love you so much. 💚💜💙❤~Mommy