The news of Leondrae Ridley’s killing stuck with Floyd Miley, who felt compelled to help his family, despite having never met them.
A Tennessee man went above and beyond to comfort the five children of a murder victim by delivering them gifts on Christmas, despite having never met them before.
Leondrae “Boo” Ridley was fatally shot as he and a friend sat in a car outside his south Nashville home on Nov. 1, police said.
The 37-year-old father managed to get out of the car after being hit, but did not survive. His five children—ages 5, 6, 10, 11 and 13—were asleep inside the home.
The news of Ridley’s killing stuck with Floyd Miley, who felt compelled to help his family in any way he could, despite having never met them.
“To lose a father, provider, protector and then to experience the first Christmas—it’s really terrible,” Miley told WTVF-TV.
Miley collected gifts for Ridley’s children and on Christmas Day, delivered them to their home.
“I don’t have much, but you know, God loves us,” Miley told Ridley’s fiancée, Stannisha Battle.
The gesture meant the world to Battle, who continues to mourn her partner of 14 years.
“He would take them to their practices, take them to their games, take them to school in the morning, pick them up in the evenings,” she told WTVF of Ridley, who recently graduated from truck driving school in an effort to provide a better life for their family. “He would do all of that. So the kids, they really looked up to him.”
Ridley’s killing is still under investigation.
His friend, who was shot in the wrist and the shoulder, managed to drive himself to the hospital where he underwent surgery.
Police said at the time they believe the friend will be able to provide more details once his medical condition improves, according to WZTV-TV.
Ridley’s mother appealed for answers to his son’s murder on Christmas Day, telling WTVF-TV: “We don't want no revenge; all we want is answers for me, his children and his fiancée.”
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