JASPER, TX – A brutal end to a tale of love left a Texas town grieving as a local cheerleading coach and a mother of three was found dead in her apartment. Her boyfriend was arrested, charged with her murder, weeks following their one-year anniversary celebration.
Rosalin Lewis, aged 24, was discovered with signs of ‘blunt force trauma,’ confirmed by the Jasper Police Department. The horrific incident led to the swift arrest of the 23-year-old boyfriend, William Christian Thomas, who now stands charged with her murder.
Lewis is survived by her three young children – Alakai (2), Aria (3), and Kaelum (5). Schwanda Scott, Lewis’s mother, laments her daughter’s tragic passing and initiated a GoFundMe campaign for support. She mourns her daughter as a beloved member of their family and a pivotal figure in the community due to her involvement as a cheerleading coach. Mysteriously, a celebratory video had been posted by Thomas on their anniversary, showing the happy couple and referring to Lewis as ‘my world.’
Jasper Police responded to an emergency call at the Myrtis Village Apartments in Jasper, Texas, around 4 am Saturday last week. Lewis’s lifeless body was found at the scene.
Prominently recognized as ‘RoRo’ or ‘Coach Ro,’ Lewis was a co-founder of the local Stunning Stars Cheer & Dance group, along with her mother. The news of her death came mere days after she publicized a fundraising event for the dance group on social media.
Thomas’s arrest followed the announcement of Lewis’s cause of death, being attributed to ‘blunt force trauma.’ Currently, he is detained in the Jasper County jail with a bond set for his murder charge at $1 million. On social media, Thomas had shared numerous pictures featuring the couple, including a collage of the two on a football field. The caption said, ‘Couldn’t get her out of my mind if I tried, My obsession.”
In a heartfelt tribute on the GoFundMe page, Lewis’s mother disclosed her daughter’s aspiration to become a Veterinary Tech and her dedication to leading and coaching the Stunning Stars in their journey towards the State Championship.
A statement on her influence on the young cheerleaders of the Jasper High School was also made, acknowledging that “every young girl she trained became a Cheerleader.” As of Friday evening, the campaign had collected over $2,000.