Raheem Brown had a lot of love in his life. He was the father of five children and he doted on them. He was also engaged to a woman he had been with for nine years, and he was one of 11 siblings in a tight-knit family.
He’ll never be able to finally get married or see his kids grow up. Raheem and his fiancee, Audrey Rhoads—the mother of his two youngest kids—were shot and killed July 8, 2018 in Southwest Philadelphia.
Brie and Raheem
U.S. Marshals in Ohio arrested a 22-year-old man on Feb. 10 in connection with the homicide of Raheem and Audrey.
“I’m happy that he’s going to court and he will be in jail for a long time, but that still doesn’t bring my son back,” his mother, Ida Seawright, said. “He’ll still see his mom, he’ll still see his family, but my son can never see his kids again. His kids can’t see their dad. I can’t see my son. So it’s bittersweet, but I believe my God will work it out either way.”
Raheem was born Oct. 12, 1989 in Philadelphia and raised in the Southwest Philly. He loved basketball and traveled the country with his AAU team. In 2007 he graduated from Bartram High School.
While in high school, at age 16, Raheem became a father for the first time to his son Raheem Jr. who will be 13 next month. His other kids, all daughters, are 10, 9, 6 and 4.
Raheem’s focus in life was being a good father, and he put them first. He took them to school, to doctor’s appointments, attended parent-teacher conferences, and was as involved as any mother would be.
“He was one of the greatest fathers ever,” Ida said. “He loved his kids. He lived for his kids. He took them to museums, the arcade, picnics in the summertime in the park, the movies, walks — he did everything with them.”
Ida Seawright with her sons Raheem (left) and Donte (right)
For Valentine’s Day he and Audrey, or “Brie,” would have undoubtedly asked Ida to babysit, she said with a laugh.
Raheem’s sister, Tamika Shaw, misses Raheem and Brie “popping up on me, showing up at my door with hugs and kisses and I love yous.”
Even though Tamika is older, Raheem acted more like an older brother.
“We were really close,” she said. “I could always count on him, and he could count on me.”
Tamika plans to get a tattoo memorializing her brother.
“He won’t be forgotten,” she said.
Raheem was preceded in death by an older brother, Donte Brown, who was murdered in Philadelphia on May 2, 2014. Both brothers are laid to rest at Mount Lawn Cemetery.
Date: 2018-07-08
Location: 5500 Elmwood Ave., Philadelphia, PA
Read more about Audrey Rhoads here.
