Published: Monday - March 10, 2008
Words by Allen Starbury



Juvenile
Photo: Atlantic Records




Despite publicly saying he was "shocked and devastated" about the murder of his 4-year-old daughter by her teen brother, rapper Juvenile was a no-show for her funeral over the weekend.

According to gossip site TMZ.com, the rapper's daughter Jelani was laid to rest during her funeral in Charleston, South Carolina on Saturday (March 8) and he was not there.

A rep for Juve told the site that he made the decision not to attend because "he didn't want to divert attention away from the ceremony with further media attention."

Jelani was just one of three victims murdered. Also gunned down by 17-year-old Anthony Tyrone Terrell Jr. was 39-year-old Joy Deleston, and 11-year-old Micaiah.

Terrell was arrested on February 29 for the murders and charged with three counts of murder and three counts of aggravated assault.

Juve's manager, Aubrey Francis, told the Associated Press recently "It really shocked him and devastated him to the point where I've never seen him before. Right now he is relaxing and trying to grasp everything of what has happened."

The relationship between the rapper and his daughter is not fully known. In 2003, Juve was arrested for abandonment of a dependent child after a DNA test determined he was the father.

In 2004, Deleston brought a paternity lawsuit against Juve. The rapper's attorney Randy Kessler told the AP that the case was resolved peacefully by consent order in 2006, with both parties agreeing that Juvenile was the father. He had since been making regular child-support payments, he said.

Terrell Jr. remains in custody at the DeKalb County jail.