Bridgeton family raises money, plans move after fatal stabbing

Jamar Byrd Jr.’s family is raising money and preparing to leave Bridgeton after the 17-year-old was fatally stabbed in the Ivy Square Apartments parking lot on Cottage Avenue. The fundraiser, titled “Support for Healing after a Tragedy,” was launched by Byrd’s father and says Byrd had just turned 17 on June 30, the day he was killed.

Bridgeton police responded at about 3:05 p.m. June 30 to a report of a stabbing at the apartment complex. Officers and emergency personnel found Byrd in the parking lot suffering from a stab wound, and he was later pronounced dead. Authorities said the stabbing followed a physical altercation in the lot.

The investigation led to the arrest of 19-year-old Kavon Underwood-Palmer, a Bridgeton resident. He was charged in connection with Byrd’s death and remains in custody while prosecutors seek pretrial detention. The charges include murder and related weapons and assault counts.

The family’s fundraiser says the money is meant to help with healing and funeral expenses, but it also points to a larger need: getting out of Bridgeton after the killing. In a case that began in the middle of a residential parking lot, the aftermath now reaches beyond the criminal charges and into the family’s daily life, with relocation becoming part of the response to the loss.

Byrd’s death has left his relatives handling immediate costs at the same time they are trying to decide where to live next. The fundraising effort has become both a financial appeal and a measure of how the family is trying to rebuild after the June 30 stabbing at Ivy Square Apartments.