‘Hug your babies’: Father remembers daughter killed in South End murder-suicide

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (WBTV) - Heartbreak remains for one family after a murder-suicide claimed the life of 23-year-old Dionyah Thompson.

Police say 33-year-old Elie Noel shot and killed Thompson, then himself, the day before Valentine’s Day.

“She was definitely the sunshine of my rainy days,” Thompson’s dad, Di Campbell, said.

Campbell said he remembers his daughter, who he called his “true love,” as a ray of light.

He said she was an artistic, fashionable, opinionated woman. She graduated from West Charlotte High School and loved travel, music and movies.

“I tell anybody, hug your babies, man, spend time, as much as you can,” Campbell said reminiscing on his time with his daughter. “It’s precious, you never now when they’re going to be gone.”

Police said Thompson and Noel knew one another and had some sort of relationship.

Campbell said he doesn’t know the details of their relationship, but remembers Thompson was worried for her safety.

“She was trying to get away from this guy,” Campbell said. “He had a bad history of domestic violence with women in the past.”

For dad and uncle Richard Bradley, heartbreak is a constant.

“It’s something you don’t expect,” Bradley said. “Especially from a young age, from somebody that you watched grow up. We think that we leave before our children, you know?”

Police said another man, a 30-year-old filed the police report. It’s still not clear how he’s connected to those involved.

As the family looks forward, Campbell said loved ones are holding a celebration of life for Thompson at St. Mark’s United Methodist Church on Saturday at 12 p.m. for anyone who wants to come.

Related: Police rule deadly shooting in Charlotte’s South End a murder-suicide

Copyright 2023 WBTV. All rights reserved.