University of South Florida’s Mistral Raymond sister found dead
University of South Florida defensive back, Mistral Raymond’s, sister was found dead in Bradenton, Florida, according to a local newspaper in the Tampa Bay, Florida area.
Raymond is expected to take part in the 2011 National Football League (NFL) Draft in April and is projected as being picked in the later rounds of the Draft.
Deputies at the local police department, the Manatee County Sheriff’s Department, said that Raymond’s 25-year old half-sister, Myslene Gabriel, spoke to investigators about a week ago and said that she was three months pregnant and a victim of aggravated
assault and battery. Her daughter, a two-year old, was found in another room on the same day and was perfectly fine.
The Sheriff’s Office released a statement saying that "there is evidence of foul play and detectives are working the case as a homicide”, although nothing is certain until Gabriel’s autopsy is completed.
Just a week ago, on 5 April, police were called to a domestic disturbance call at Gabriel’s apartment. When police arrived, Gabriel claimed that her 27-year old ex-boyfriend, Bryan Stanford, grabbed her face and physically assaulted her, hitting her with
an open hand, according to a police report.
This is not the first time that a tragedy has affected Raymond. The six foot one, 196 pound defensive back spoke to the media while visiting the Chicago Bears last week about an incident that occurred three years ago.
In that incident, Raymond nearly lost his sisters, sisters’ children and mother in an attack on their family residence in Palmetto, Florida.
Raymond’s cousin lived next door to Raymond and had killed someone in self-defence. Friends of the victim then attacked the home where Raymond’s family was, thinking that it was the home of his cousin. Raymond’s mother, pregnant younger sister, older sister
and her two children were in the home when the attackers threw Molotov cocktails through the windows of the home.
"It was situation where they just picked the wrong house", Raymond said. "And while my mother and sisters were struggling to get out, the assailants or whatever you want to call them started shooting. So they were forced to run back into the house while
it was on fire.
I guess some buddies of mine that were down the street, they came and they ran the guys off. But my older sister, she was shot multiple times and didn't even know it. She was running off adrenaline, trying to keep everybody situated".
Nanise Raymond, the older sister, survived after an emergency surgery after she was shot at least four times after two gunmen in masks fired, hitting her twice in the leg. The rest of the family was not injured, but they lost everything they owned in the
fire. Raymond’s disabled mother died six months after the fire due to an illness in her lungs, although it was not determined if the fire was a factor.
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