Family seeks answers a year after expecting parents unsolved Valentine’s Day murders in Birmingham alley

One year ago today, Angeliyah Webster and Chris Norris headed out on Valentine’s date.

They were never seen alive again.

The bodies of Webster and Norris, who were expecting their first child, were found two days later in a Birmingham alley. Both had been shot to death.

Every day is struggle for their grieving families, but holidays are especially tough.

The one-year anniversary of their slayings, which remain unsolved, is even worse.

“As I approach a day that is supposedly celebrated as a symbol of love for couples turned into a nightmare on my street,’’ said Webster’s grieving mother, Temecia Sistrunk. “Valentine’s Day will always be a bittersweet day for me.”

Instead of attending a movie together that Wednesday night, Sistrunk says the was lured, kidnapped and murdered.

“The world continues to turn, but it feels as though time has frozen, leaving a void that seems impossible to fill,’’ she said.

Norris’s mother agrees.

“I have so many memories but it’s nothing like having you,’’ Lisa Norris said. “This grief is a different kind.”

Angeliyah Webster and Christian Norris Homicide

Angeliyah Webster and Christian Norris, both 20 and expecting their first child, vanished on Valentine’s Day 2024. Their bodies were found two days later inside a vehicle in a Wylam alley.(Contributed)

Webster, a 2022 graduate of John Carroll Catholic High School, and Norris, who had been together more than a year, were last seen about 5 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 14, 2024, in the 1500 block of 20th Place in Ensley.

They were believed to be on their way to a movie date at an unknown theater. They were in a white Ford Taurus.

The following morning, on Thursday, Feb. 15, Sistrunk woke up and showered to get ready for a doctor’s appointment.

She went to her daughter’s room and saw she had not been home.

“She wasn’t there but it was Valentine’s night so maybe her and Christian were together,’’ Sistrunk recalled thinking.

“Something told me to call their phones,’’ she said. “Her phone went straight to voicemail.”

As time passed, the families began to worry. And they began to search, growing more frantic with each passing hour.

They filed a report with the Birmingham Police Department which issued bulletins for the couple late Thursday night.

On Friday, Feb. 16, the family also went to the dealership where Norris had bought his car. They were able to “ping” the vehicle’s general location to somewhere in Wylam.

The family then headed that way, as did Birmingham police detectives who independently learned of a possible location for the Taurus.

Just before 4 p.m. that Friday, Webster and Norris were found slain in Norris’s Taurus in the 4100 block of 10th Avenue in Wylam.

Shortly before the bodies were found in Wylam, four people had been killed in a drive-by shooting in the city’s Smithfield community.

Police at the time described the six murders in less than two hours as “unfathomable.”

Birmingham Homicide Feb. 16, 2024

A man and a woman were found shot to death Friday, Feb. 16, 2024, in a Wylam alley.(Carol Robinson)

Both Webster and Norris were excited about becoming parents and were looking forward to their upcoming gender reveal.

The Disney-inspired party was set for April 6, and it was there that friends and family would find out if the baby was going to a “Moana” or a “Maui.”

Sistrunk said Webster had chosen the name Seven from the Bible, and said it means completion.

“Losing my daughter, Angeliyah, is an indescribable ach that lingers in my heart, a profound sorry that weaves itself into the very fabric of everyday life,’’ Sistrunk said.

“Each moment becomes tainted with the absence of her laughter, her dreams, and the memories that once filled the home with warmth,’’ she said. “The heartache is both a tribute to the deep bond shared and a testament to the beauty of a life that, although brief, left an indelible mark on all who loved her.”

Norris said she often sits and looks at pictures and videos of her son.

“My heart will always be broken,’’ she said. “They took my only son, my protector.”

The families are pleading for justice in the double slaying.

Anyone with information is asked to call Crime Stoppers at 205-254-7777.