The best day of Brian Michael Lawhon II’s life was the day he became a father. He was still in high school, but he and his girlfriend, Jennifer, doted on the baby girl they named Ayanna, which means “pretty flower,” and they made it work.
“He was young, but he continued school, and he worked two jobs, at Rite Aid and Shop Rite,” his mother Maria Martinez said. “His daughter was everything to him. Even being a young father, he was always there for her.”
Brian and Jennifer defied the odds and remained together. They became engaged, but had not yet married. In addition to Ayanna, who is now 14, they also had two sons, Ramon, who is 11, and Ethan, 9. At the end of May 2019, the couple celebrated their 15-year anniversary.
There would be no anniversaries to celebrate after that. A few days later, on June 1, 2019, Brian and another man got into an argument at 7-Eleven at Girard Avenue and Front Street in Fishtown. Brian was severly beaten and died a short time later. His assailant, a 26-year-old Philadelphia man, was arrested at the scene and charged in connection with Brian’s death.
“Brian did not deserve this. Nobody deserves to have their life taken from them,” Maria said. “One of the things I said at his funeral is that we as a people need to love more and argue less. It’s OK to walk away from a fight. Nothing is worth your life.”
Brian, who went by the nickname “Machi,” was born Nov. 29, 1988 in Philadelphia to Maria and his father Brian Lawhon. He had a younger sister, Bianca Burch, and he was a graduate of Samuel Fels High School.
“In all honesty, and not because I’m his mother, he was the most loving, selfless kind of person you’d ever meet, and everybody says the same thing,” Maria said. “He was a family man and his kids meant the world to him.”
Brian was a diehard Philadelphia Eagles fan, and he was elated when his team won the Super Bowl in 2018. He included his kids in the celebration and brought them to Broad Street the night of their win.
It made Maria proud to see Brian so actively involved in his kids’ lives. His fiancee had a regular 9-5 job while Brian did demolition work, so he had the flexibility to be there to meet with their kids’ teachers and stop in at school if the children needed anything.
When his sister Bianca had her own children, she and Brian could relate to each other in a new way. After Bianca gave birth to her second child, she became ill and returned to the hospital for life-saving surgery. Nothing could stop him from visiting her in the hospital, even though he had no transportation.
Brian and his son Ramon.
Brian started walking from his home at 2nd and Lehigh to Abington Hospital—a nearly 10-mile route that would have taken more than three hours. Luckily, a cousin saw him walking and pulled over to give him a ride.
“That’s how much we all meant to him,” Bianca said. “He would go above and beyond to make sure he was there for somebody. He’d say, ‘I need to make sure you’re good. You good?’ That was his favorite line to everybody. ‘You good?’”
Brian was also known for refusing to say goodbye to anyone. Instead, he said, “See you later.”
Stephanie Cruz was Brian’s cousin, but she considered him to be more of an older brother. They were two years apart in age, and he was someone Stephanie could depend on.
“If I needed any advice, whether it be guy advice, or family advice, or any advice in general, it would be him I would go to,” Stephanie said. “He would never judge me for anything. He was always there for people even though things were hard for him. He always made sure his family was good.”
Brian’s concern for others extended beyond his family. He routinely gave money to the homeless, and Maria recounted a story in which Brian had picked up a platter of food after working all day and ended up giving it to a homeless man he encountered on his way home.
“I used to tell him, ‘Machi, you can’t save the world.’” Maria said. “That’s just how he was. He was always trying to help people.”
Brian and daughter Ayanna.
That makes what happened to Brian even more painful because there were witnesses to the attack, but rather than helping or calling 9-1-1, they used their phones to videotape it instead.
As the case moves through the court system, Brian’s family is hoping for justice and holding memories of him close to their hearts.
Stephanie has been noticing signs when she visits Brian at Greenmount Cemetery.
“There are days when I’ll be there and I’ll notice that the sky will be really pretty, or the sunshine is brighter,” Stephanie said.
Bianca wants Brian to be remembered for his smile and for his giving nature. Even though he had his own struggles, he always came through for his loved ones.
“He didn’t like holding grudges and having negative energy around him,” she said. “He was just a good person. He had flaws, but he was a good person.”
Brian and his son Ethan.
Date: 2019-06-02
Location: 20 W Girard Ave, Philadelphia, PA
