Dozens pay respects to slain S.C. foster teen with walk in her honor
COLUMBIA, S.C. (WIS) - Dozens of people came out to Columbia on Sunday to pay their respects to 13-year-old Ka’Niyah Baker who was killed in early January, according to police.
Two twins from Sumter who grew up in the foster care system led the charge in making sure Baker’s memory lives on. Davon and Tavon Woods, the founders of the nonprofit, Foster Kids Matter, paid their respects by walking near where she was found.
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Columbia Police Chief “Skip” Holbrook described Ka’Niyah’s murder as “heinous” and “vicious,” and said she was found with severe burns on her body.
The Sumter twins have been walking across the country for years in of the foster care system. They say Baker’s story hit them hard, after finding out she was also a foster kid originally from Sumter.
The Woods twins were so compelled by Baker’s story, that they drove all the way from Sumter to walk on Sunday. Tavon said like Baker, the Woods also had a tough childhood growing up through the foster care system.
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“We can relate; we’ve been through the system, we’ve been through it, we got taken away at birth and it’s just so crazy. That’s why we do what we do,” Tavon said. “We’ve been through a lot; that’s why we go so hard with our movement and it’s just so sad, so heartbreaking that a kid had to go through that.”
The Allen University Women’s basketball team ed the Woods twins and a handful of parents in paying respects to Baker. They all walked from Cardamon Court down part of Farrow Road in Columbia, near where Baker was initially found.
Davon hopes that trying to shine a light on Baker’s life encourages other kids having a hard time in the foster care system to get the help they need.
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“We’re going to make sure that we keep Ka’Niyah’s name alive, and to every child in the foster care system, we’re going to make sure we keep your name alive as well,” Davon said. “Find somebody that you trust. As hard as it is, and we want the world to pay more attention we’ve been walking around the country for three years.”
The Woods Twins say they plan to hold more events in memory of Baker in 2025, one step at a time.
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