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Alexis Stubbs, 'Gone At 12,' Mourned By Family Who Said She Would Be A Star

By Josh McGhee | June 23, 2017 3:52pm | Updated on June 26, 2017 9:52am
 Funeral services were held Friday for the 12-year-old girl stabbed to death in Uptown earlier this month.
Funeral services were held Friday for the 12-year-old girl stabbed to death in Uptown earlier this month.
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Obituary/DNAinfo Josh McGhee

CHICAGO — Alexis Stubbs was a young diva in the making before she was brutally killed this month.

The 12-year-old loved to sing, dance and give you a bite of her quick wit, said family members, who gathered for her funeral Friday at St. Paul's Missionary Baptist Church, 6954 S. Union Ave.

They dressed in all white, with some of the young women donning pink flower crowns to honor the "queen."

"If you said 'what do you want do when you grow up?' she said 'I’m gonna be on TV.' ... She meant that. That was her goal. That was her dream. She definitely wanted to be a star," said her cousin Stephanie Phillips, 44.

"She knew she was going to be on TV, and I told her I was going to help her get there. She really believed she was going to be a celebrity," said Phillips.

Years ago, Phillips babysat Alexis. Because of their age difference, Alexis considered her an aunt and called her "tee-tee."

Alexis would spend a lot of time with her family in suburban Elgin, and the two developed a special bond that helped develop her big personality, said Phillips, adding Alexis got her sarcastic tone from her.

"She walked around like she was a star when she was little because that’s how we treated her. We treated her like our little star. That was our baby," said Phillips,

Alexis often asked her mother to move her out of the city and to Elgin, Phillips said.

Around 9:45 p.m. on June 11, Alexis was at her home in the 4600 block of North Beacon Street when she was stabbed and beaten by her mother's ex-boyfriend, who recently had been released from prison for strangling Alexis' mother in front of her, authorities said.

John Singleton, 31, who was released in April after a three-year prison stint, has been charged with Alexis' murder.

Alexis and her mother lived in public housing in Uptown, where Singleton was only allowed to visit for a week, Assistant State's Attorney Guy Lisuzzo said during a bond hearing. The deadly argument stemmed from the housing situation and cigarettes, prosecutors said.

Alexis considered Singleton her "daddy," even pleading "please, daddy, don't" as he attacked her with a hammer and then stabbed her, prosecutors said.

"This was terrible, like one of the worst things that could possibly happen for my family. We didn’t even want her out here," Phillips said after the funeral Friday.

Around Uptown, neighbors recognized her for her having her "own unique little style." She was "a neighborhood kid" still mourning the death of her friend, 13-year-old Tianna Hollinside, who drowned at Rogers Beach in May. 

"She just went to her best friend's funeral," said Alicia McFadden, who said she always got a big hug from the child when they saw each other.

"I was expecting to see her, but she ain't gonna come out. I was used to her running out and hugging me," she said after the child's death.

Alexis was born on Dec. 21, 2004. She had a gentle smile, enjoyed music, "chillin' with friends" and taking lots of pictures. She was also the comedian of the family, according to her obituary.

Kiwanda Evans remembered her niece as a "beautiful girl," who would visit her 14-year-old daughter Janyah in Lake in the Hills on the weekends. The pair would sing karaoke songs and emulate their favorite stars: Lady Gaga, Beyonce and Alicia Keys. Alexis even dressed up as Lady Gaga for Halloween two years ago, she said.

"Lexie wanted to be famous like most 12-year-old girls. She wanted to be a celebrity— acting, modeling, she wanted to do it all," she said.

Often Evans would take the cousins to the movies. While Alexis was a fan of Disney movies and comedies, she would fall asleep during scary movies, her aunt remembered.

"Lexie was sunshine," Evans said. "To this day, I can still hear her calling me 'tee-tee'; I can see her face every time I close my eyes. It’s just hard for her to be gone at 12."