JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Diana Kellam, 39, a local mother of three, is gone too soon. She was found dead from a gunshot wound and now loved ones like Sonia Cantos are mourning the loss.
“I want everyone to remember Diana as a happy, caring, independent, hardworking and loving person,” Cantos said. “A loving mother, willing to help anybody in any way possible.”
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Kellam was shot to death in the parking lot between the Krystal and the Gate gas station on Baymeadows Road, according to police. Action News Jax was there the night it happened and saw two cars next to each other with at least two evidence markers around them.
Right now, the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office marks the death as an unclassified homicide.
Cantos said she believes there’s more to it.
“We’re still trying to find out with the detectives exactly what happened, but we know that it was close range, she got shot in the stomach, we know there was some kind of altercation,” she said.
Cantos believes Kellam was shot by her boyfriend, the same man that Cantos told Action News Jax about was booked into the Duval County jail the morning after the shooting. He’s in jail for discharging a firearm from a car, in public and in possession of cocaine. The arrest report cites the same day, location and time frame of the shooting.
It says the suspect admitted to bringing his gun into the victim’s car before they were killed following “unknown circumstances” and then stopped talking.
The report also says two shell casings were found in the victim’s car. It should be noted we’ve reached out to JSO to confirm the connection but are waiting on a response.
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Cantos wants more answers and justice for her cousin.
“She didn’t deserve this,” Cantos said. “Not this way. She didn’t deserve to go this way.”
Cantos tells Action News Jax that Kellam was not just a loving mother but also loved animals, photography, and baking. Cantos said she had several pets and they are looking to rehome them.