Pregnant Radio DJ TySheeks Murdered, Boyfriend Charged

Tasheka Ranette Young, a popular Jacksonville, Florida radio personality known also as TySheeks, was reportedly four months pregnant when police allege the father of her two young children, Bursey Jerome Armstrong Jr., killed her in a domestic violence incident. Young was 34 when she was killed Saturday in her home at Mission Pointe Apartments on Biscayne Boulevard, the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office told First Coast News.

Armstrong has been charged with second-degree murder in her death. Officers responded to the Mission Pointe apartments Saturday evening for reports of an unresponsive woman, according to the local news station, identified as Young. Armstrong was apprehended and arrested the following day. The arrest report reveals that a handgun was allegedly discharged and that Armstrong is accused of trying to escape from the interview room at the Police Memorial Building.

Keturah Jordan and Phylisha Thompson, close friends of Young’s, told First Coast News that they had tried to get their friend to leave Armstrong for years. “It has been an ongoing situation since they’ve been together,” Jordan told the outlet. “You could see the signs, the messages she sent me all the time … when you’re deep in love and you are blinded by love, you can’t see those things, so you kind of push them away underneath the covers.”

“It’s not surprising, but it’s surprising,” Thompson added. “Because we kept telling her to leave. We knew it was coming, but when it came, it just really hurt because it was so real.” She continued, “So many of us knew what was going on, tried to save her, and she loves so hard, so deep that just no word can penetrate that.”

Monday, Power 106.1, the station at which Young worked, posted a tribute to the late radio personality. “Our hearts are broken this morning,” the station wrote alongside her photo. “Tysheeks was a spirited, ambitious, and loved part of the Power 106.1 family for many years. She loved her job, her community, and most of all her family. Her voice will never be forgotten and we pray for her and her family.”

If you or someone you know needs help, the National Domestic Violence Hotline is available 24/7 at (800) 799-7233.