Man charged in death of pregnant woman found in vacant Detroit home with 4 children inside

DETROIT – A Detroit man was charged Thursday in connection with death of a pregnant woman found naked in a vacant home with four young children inside on the city's west side.

Willie L. Wilborn, 29, is charged with first-degree murder.

It is alleged that Wilborn used blunt force to the head of La'Diamond Meyers, 24, on June 28 at a vacant house in the in the 15000 block of Braile Street. Officers were called to the home the next day.

"The little boy said, 'My daddy hit her across the head with the broom and he stabbed her,'" the neighbor who found the woman's body said.

The ages of the children in the home range from 8 months to 5 years old.

"She was five months pregnant. You didn't only take hers, you took another life as well as her," said Meyers' sister, Sheila Calvin.

Calvin said Meyers cared deeply for her children.

"You took my sister, someone who we'll never see again, someone who her kids won't see. It's about how her kids are going to feel now," Calvin said.

Family members said Meyers moved into an abandoned house off Evergreen Road and Braile Street with her children a month ago, adding she was in a troubled relationship.

Detroit police said four children were inside the home when their mother was killed.

"I went in there and she was lying on the bed with no clothes on," the neighbor said.

The neighbor who discovered the body said she became suspicious when the oldest child came outside looking for help.

"The little girl was riding a scooter," she said. "I said, 'Where is your mom and dad?' She said, 'Mom is sleeping and dad's at work.'"

Police believe the children were in the home with their mother's body for a few hours.

Neighbors said they often saw the woman outside with her children. While she kept to herself, they said it was clear she loved her children.

"She was always out with the kids, playing with the kids and doing the best that she could," Jenkins said. "No one would have ever thought that something tragic like this would have happened."

Detroit police said the children are with a family member.

Wilborn is expected to be arraigned Thursday.

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