Family, friends reeling from deaths of Newton mother, daughter

Friends of the mother and daughter slain in their Newton duplex earlier this week have set up a GoFundMe page to help pay for their funerals.

Alyssa Runyon, 24, and her 4-year-old daughter, Zaylynn Paz, were found dead in their bedrooms Tuesday morning by an ex-boyfriend who went to check on them after Runyon did not answer her phone, law enforcement officials have said.

Keith Lane Hawkins, 19, took Runyon’s vehicle and drove to a family member’s house in Taylor, Texas, where he was arrested at 5:25 p.m Tuesday, authorities said.

Zaylynn had been stabbed to death, Newton police have said, while Runyon appears to have been strangled.

Family members declined to make a statement in the wake of what happened, but a friend who knew Runyon for years sent an e-mail response to questions.

“She was a beautiful soul, amazing friend, sister, daughter and most of all a fantastic mom who absolutely loved her kids,” Leslie McKenzie said. “This is a tragedy...such a violent death, especially to a beautiful, innocent baby girl is just hard to handle.”

The GoFundMe page had raised more than $1,000 toward a $10,000 goal in less than a day.

Funeral arrangements have not yet been announced.

This story was originally published August 9, 2017 at 5:43 PM with the headline "Family, friends reeling from deaths of Newton mother, daughter."