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LeBron James calls for justice for friend's murdered sister, Internet slams him for 'preaching defund police'

Many on the Internet pointed out that it was hypocritical of the NBA star to approach authorities after calling for a cut in their funding

The death of an Ohio woman has left LeBron James shattered as he took to Twitter to demand justice for her death. Erica Weems was the sister of James’s dear friend Brandon Weems, and who was found dead Monday afternoon, November 2, in her bedroom by her family members. Taking to Twitter, the 35-year-old wrote on Wednesday, November 4, “AKRON OHIO!! My brother’s sister was murdered this past weekend in her home! My brother family need answers to why and by whom. My city I need y’all to go to work and find out who did this awful, shameful, disgusting thing to such a caring, loving angel! #Justice4EricaWeems.”

But instead of receiving support from people on the internet, James faced backlash as one said, “Well I’m sure the police you wanted to defund are working overtime to solve the case. Maybe 1 of those 13,000 felons that you helped pay off their fines so that they could vote Democrat did it. I’m sorry that somebody died. But LeBron. If you call the tune, pay the piper.” Another one agreed as they wrote, “100% agree. Easy sitting in a mansion behind private gates preaching defund police. But now it hits home and he wants help? No he didn’t say “police” but that’s cuz he can’t. What’s “people” gonna do? Police will need to be involved and he knows it. Pray for that fam, not lebron.”

“@KingJames hopefully the neighbors can figure it out cus im sure you would never rely on the police too. Right? Curious question. Black on black crime? Are we going to burn down the city? Loot?  Chaos?” added the third user.

The body of the 37-year-old, who was a daycare provider, was found after she did not go to babysit a friend’s kid Monday morning. To make sure she was fine, her family went to her house only to find her dead. Erica reportedly had a gunshot wound on her head. Later, her death was pronounced as a homicide by the Summit County Medical Examiner. PEOPLE reported that no one has been arrested yet in connection with the case as the investigation is underway.

Meanwhile, the devastated family of the woman has urged justice for her. Erica’s sister, Shermaine Weems-Reed, told News 5 Cleveland, “They just stripped our whole world in the blink of an eye. Please. I never ever thought I would ever be in this position. Just please tell somebody something. This is such a tragedy for us.” Her brother Brandon, who has been friends with James since high school, said: “She just loved and cared about everybody. She had the biggest heart. I'm going to miss her dearly. She had a passion and love for children. She could get kids to say and do things that even their parents couldn't do."

Meanwhile, a reward of up to $5,000 has been offered by Summit County Crime Stoppers for anyone who can help with the investigation. Also, people with any information related to the death of Erica can call anonymously 330-434-COPS or send a message to TIPSCO with tips to 274637. Informants can call Akron detectives at 330-375-2490 or 330-375-2TIP.