ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Outside Michelle Roberts' St. Petersburg home, a butterfly wind chime can be found hanging outside. She said her daughter once told her to look for butterflies if she ever passed away.
"I look, and look and look, over and over again, day after day," Roberts said.
In August 2022, Roberts' daughter Shaariyah Brown was only 14 years old when St. Pete police said she and 18-year-old Brice Lewis were killed while riding in a car with unlicensed driver, Nikia Killens.
On Tuesday, Killens, who was 17 years old at the time, pleaded guilty to the crash. Last year, her mother Eloda Hogan pleaded guilty to allowing her daughter behind the wheel.
Roberts said she and Brice Lewis' mother, Alfrieda Lewis, hugged in court upon hearing the news.
"She told me that she loved me. I told her I love her too and we're in this together," Roberts said.
The two had grown connected ever since the day their children were killed. Both have since advocated against people driving while unlicensed to prevent more lives from being lost.
"It was a sense of relief," Roberts said. "Maybe this will teach some people a lesson to not drive without a license, whether you're an adult or a teenager."
Both said they are thankful for Tuesday's outcome, but the reality is the grieving never truly stops.
Roberts said Brown was outgoing and close to her brother. She loved doing TikTok dances and was always happy.
She said it touches her that Brown seemed to touch so many people in her young life. She recalls several people who knew Brown consoling her at one point after the crash.
Roberts said she draws strength from her family and knowing her daughter would want her to have a happy life.
"She was the life of my life," she said. "Sometimes I feel like I'm just here to be here because of someone else's senseless mistakes, you know. So it's hard, but you know, I take it one day at a time."
Killens' sentencing date over operating a motor vehicle without a driver's license causing death will take place in September.