TOLEDO, Ohio — The pain of losing Whitney Wade weighs heavily on her sister Moelisa Young, but now that pain is replaced with relief.
"It's the best feeling in the world," Young said in reaction to the news of the arrest of Ofari Smith, the man wanted on a murder charge after her sister was stabbed and killed.
Young says Wade's family can breathe again.
"It was a big weight lifted off of me," Young said. "I called our brothers and they said the same thing. A big weight lifted."
U.S. Marshals picked Smith up in Adrian on Tuesday after a murder warrant was issued for his arrest. Young said friends were helping him hide, evading police.
"They hid this boy for over a week for a crime that he committed," Young said.
Police say Smith stabbed Wade multiple times, killing the mother of two of his children, and leaving her five kids behind.
Young said if there was abuse in the relationship, Wade didn't talk about it with her.
"We never knew that these things were happening to my sister," Young said. "She never spoke on it. She never showed signs of anything."
But she still wants anyone suffering through an abusive relationship to know as long as you can talk to someone, it's not too late.
"Y'all can speak up. There's so much help out here for domestic violence victims," she said. "Speak up."
Ultimately, Young believes Smith should face the same fate as her sister, calling for the death penalty.
"I want him to suffer like he made my sister suffer. I want him to get the chair. I want something. I feel like he doesn't need to be living," Young said. "He took my sister away from five kids, and I feel like he needs to be dead too."
Young said detectives told her Smith will be extradited back to Ohio next week.
Smith is charged with murder but has not been convicted and he has yet to appear before a judge and jury for trial.
As for the death penalty, it's not known if this case would qualify. Capital punishment is suspended indefinitely in Ohio.
If you or someone you know is in a situation involving domestic abuse or violence, you can call the National Domestic Violence hotline, toll-free at 1-800-799-SAFE(7233), at any day and at any time.
Additional resources are available in the document below: