Vigil held for Tomitka Stewart, mother of 10 and homicide victim

MILWAUKEE (CBS 58) -- Family, friends, and co-workers gathered to remember Tomitka Stewart on Thursday, April 18. Stewart, 41, was found dead in a car Wednesday night after police issued a critical missing person alert for her earlier in the day.

Milwaukee police said they arrested a 41-year-old man in connection to her death, which they consider a homicide related to domestic violence.

Family members Stewart was a mother of 10 children, ranging in age from three to 22 years old. 

Her oldest child, Lawrence Lejon-Jurnatt, said his mother had been a victim of domestic abuse for years. 

"At the end of the day, she was a strong, hard woman, she was strong, she was hard working," Lejon-Jurnatt said. "And I feel like that mom was a person of love and care, she cared about everybody."

Lejon-Jurnatt said he didn't know whether his mother had sought outside help in escaping the abuse.

Stewart's coworkers said they'd heard about the abuse, too. What they noted the most, however, was Stewart's willingness to help out, even when she was overwhelmed in her personal life.

Stewart rose to reach the position of district manager for a collect of five Jersey Mike's sandwich shops in Southeast Wisconsin. She worked with Dylan Ristow at the Pewaukee store before moving to the Franklin location two months ago.  

"She meant the world to me, she was mentoring me to be a G.M. at some point, and she was just always there for you," Ristow said. "If you needed to talk to somebody about whether it was work stuff, or any personal matter, she was a phone call or text away."

Police said they'd referred homicide charges for prosecutors to review. Kent Lovern, chief deputy district attorney for the Milwaukee County D.A.'s office, said charges had not yet been filed as of Thursday afternoon.