WEST ENGLEWOOD — Jessica Hampton's family found out she was dead through Facebook.
The 25-year-old from West Englewood was slain on the Red Line near 47th Street Thursday afternoon and within minutes, videos and photos of her lifeless body were viewed hundreds of times on social media.
On Friday morning, Hampton's family was trying to come to terms with the tragedy on her South Side block.
"For us to go on Facebook and see this," said her cousin, who asked to remain anonymous. "We go on there and we see our family lying there like that, is wrong, and it's not cool."
Early Friday, Facebook had removed the video of Hampton lying in a pool of blood on the train, but the video remained on other websites.
Hampton's killer was believed to be her boyfriend, and the stabbing was part of an "ongoing domestic dispute," Deputy Chicago Police Supt. John Escalante said at the scene Thursday.
A man was arrested on the scene, and a weapon was recovered, police said. Relatives said the killer was a bitter ex who was angry that she had moved on.
Family members identified the man they say killed Hampton, but DNAinfo is not naming him, as charges have not been filed.
Relatives said the man had been stalking Hampton on social media and in person after she broke up with him.
Friends and relatives on social media shared links to the alleged killer's Facebook page, which prominently features a photo of Hampton.
Cousin Shannon Rose said he didn't know much about the alleged killer, and that it was not like Hampton to keep the men she dated under wraps.
"This wasn't like her," Rose said. "We knew the men she dated. Nobody knows him. She never brought him around. I met all of her boyfriends, but not this guy."
Dolores Frazier, Hampton's aunt, said that her niece was engaged to another man when she was killed, which sent her ex into a jealous rage.
"We thought it was her fiancé at first, until we saw his picture on Facebook," Frazier said. "I guess he got mad at her because she had moved on. She didn't deserve that."
Rose said Hampton, who had a 5-year-old daughter, was nicknamed "Barbie" by family members. They described her as a "good woman who was trying to stay on the right path."
She was a "sweet person" who loved getting dressed up and dancing, Frazier said.
"It's was sad how it all happened. It's senseless," another cousin said. "He was obsessed with her. If he couldn't have her then no one" could.
For more neighborhood news, listen to DNAinfo Radio here:
