CINCINNATI — A 47-year-old man has been charged in connection with the murder of a mother of five in December.
Willie Gordon is charged with two counts of murder, one count of reckless homicide, two counts of tampering with evidence and one count of having weapons while under disability in connection with the death of Tekeya McCollum, a 31-year-old woman found shot in the stairwell of a Walnut Hills apartment building days before Christmas.
In court on Feb. 10, Gordon received a $2.15 million bond.
An assistant prosecuting attorney said the shooting occurred in Gordon's Park Eden apartment.
"The victim (McCollum) came over to engage in a sale of clothing or some type of something," she said. "Suddenly, a shot goes off. The friend fled from the residence, called 911 and then the defendant (Gordon) is seen on video leaving the building later."
Police found McCollum suffering from a gunshot wound in the stairwell of the Park Eden building at 2610 Park Avenue after a report of gunshots heard by building residents around 6 p.m. Dec. 23.
WATCH: We sat down with the victim's brother, DeRonn McCollum to talk about the tragic incident
At the time of the incident, the attorney said, Gordon was home with a friend.
"We deny these allegations. Your Honor, he was not there. He has nothing to do with this. We do not know who did this," Caleb Baum, Gordon's attorney, said.
A criminal complaint alleges that Gordon shot McCollum before moving her body from the crime scene, his apartment, to the apartment stairwell.
"What could a person do to make you shoot a woman in the back of her head? Cowardly, if you ask me," DeRonn McCollum, Tekeya's brother, said.
DeRonn McCollum said investigators have kept the family informed throughout the investigation thus far, contacting them every few weeks with updates.
"You see unsolved murders all the time, so I didn't know that something would happen so soon," he said. "They did a great job of keeping us informed on what was going on, so we knew that they had good leads."
While he's grateful for the arrest, DeRonn McCollum said it doesn't bring him peace.
"It doesn't make me feel any better," McCollum said. "It's not going to make me sleep any better, because Tekeya is never coming back. My nieces and nephews will never get their mother back."
DeRonn McCollum said Tekeya's five children and the entire family are taking it one day at a time as they continue to grieve.
"She was just a very outgoing person, full of life," DeRonn McCollum said. "She would give you the shoes off her feet, the coat off her back. She was just a very loving person."
We first spoke with DeRonn McCollum on Dec. 24, the day after his sister was murdered. At the time, he said Tekeya's death wasn't the only loss his family was grappling with.
In October 2024, McCollum's grandmother, Patricia McCollum, and her two adopted children, 32-year-old DJ and 11-year-old Kaydence, were found dead inside her home after a stabbing.
Police say Anthony Mathis, Patricia's son-in-law, stabbed the three. Mathis, 66, died from self-inflicted stab wounds at UC Medical Center after an hours-long SWAT standoff with Cincinnati police.
"It's a lot. Our life has been very chaotic these past couple years," McCollum said. "You roll with the punches and you take it one day at a time and hope to get through it all. Absolutely no expectations."
