Alabama birthday girl begged dying brother to ‘stay with me’

DADEVILLE, Ala. — Alexis Dowdell’s Sweet 16 birthday party ended with her kneeling beside her fatally wounded brother on the blood-slicked floor of a dance studio in small-town Alabama, the bodies of other wounded teens scattered around them. Saturday night in Dadeville, about an hour’s drive northeast of Montgomery, began as it should have, with “everybody dancing, vibing to the music,” Alexis Dowdell said. “When they came in, I said ‘Can you check on my brother?’” Alexis Dowdell recalled. And I just knew he was just gone.” In addition to Phil Dowdell, Tallapoosa County Coroner Mike Knox said the dead included fellow Dadeville High senior Shaunkivia Nicole “KeKe” Smith, 17, an athlete-turned-team manager; 2022 Opelika High School graduate Marsiah Emmanuel “Siah” Collins, 19, an aspiring singer whose father told AL.com that Collins planned to start college this fall; and 2018 Dadeville High graduate Corbin Dahmontrey Holston, 23, another former athlete at the school. She had already shared selfies taken in her cap and gown, writing “almost out.” Amy Jackson, an older cousin of Smith’s who said she was more of an aunt to the teenager, recalled her “million-dollar” smile.