Family of man killed in Richmond restaurant remembers him as ‘peacemaker,’ ‘shining star’

RICHMOND, Va. (WRIC) -- The family of a Richmond father of eight stabbed to death inside a West Broad Street restaurant in early February sat down with 8News to talk about the life and legacy of their lost loved one.

At 11:58 p.m. on Thursday, Feb. 6, officers with the Richmond Police Department were called to a restaurant in the 3200 block of West Broad Street for report of a stabbing.

When they arrived, they found 42-year-old Kyron Fowlkes down and unresponsive in the kitchen of the Lemon Cuisine of India with a stab wound. He died at the scene.

"Kyron [was] basically like a shining star to me -- and especially to everyone that he knew," his sister, Dre'Quanna Fowlkes, said. "He's basically like the life of a party. He's always smiling and he doesn't let a lot of negative get to him."

Kyron's cousin, Jermaine Hill, said that he was with him at the restaurant that night, and had seen his cousin earlier in the day, as well.

"He didn't seem different at all," Hill said. "We were just relaxing as we normally would. He had called a few other of the friends over, family members over -- so quite a few people were here and we were just vibing, having a good time."

Later that night, Hill said both he and Fowlkes went to Lemon Cuisine of India for karaoke night.

Investigators previously said that it's believed that the stabbing was the result of an argument that involved Kyron and three other customers.

"I went to the bathroom, came back out and he [Kyron] was still talking to the same guys -- and it was no rowdy conversation," Hill said. "It looked to be absolutely no signs of tension, anything."

According to police, 34-year-old Shaquan Peterson of Petersburg, 30-year-old Keith Burgess of Chesterfield County and 27-year-old Darry Fitzgerald of Richmond were all arrested and charged with Kyron's murder.

Dre'Quanna and Hill both told 8News that one of these men was a family friend, though they did not say which.

PREVIOUS: Three charged with murder after man stabbed to death in Richmond restaurant

"The fact that we know one of the three people, that makes it that much more unbelievable and questionable," Hill said. "The accused were sitting at a table directly in front of us. They sang karaoke songs on that night."

During the karaoke night, Hill said staff started rushing people out, telling them that Virginia ABC was coming.

"I was like, 'ABC is coming? You guys can sell alcohol til 2 a.m.' -- it sounded funny," Hill said.

When Hill went outside, he said he saw flashing blue lights and heard people saying a staff member was stabbed. Later, he found out what had really happened -- it had not been an employee, but his cousin, who had been fatally stabbed.

"I was hoping that it wasn't going to be him overall, but it was," Dre'Quanna said. "He was a peacemaker, we never expected anything like this to happen."

Kyron Fowlkes with his family. (Photo: Dre’Quanna Fowlkes)

As the family grapples with the loss of Kyron, they said they are focusing most on his eight children, who are now without a father.

"[When] I pulled up to the scene, it hurt seeing my dad being transported out of a restaurant like that," said Kyron's son, Kanye Lewis, of how he felt that night. "I got a daughter now ... and when she grows up, I have to tell her she doesn't have a grandfather."

If you'd like to help the family financially recover from the loss of their loved one, the family has set up a GoFundMe. You can donate here.

The investigation is ongoing. Anyone with more information is asked to call the Richmond Police Department at 804-646-3431.