HOPEWELL, Va. - Tyonne "Chef Ty" Johns, 35, of Hopewell, was killed Saturday while she catered a wedding at Ellanor C. Lawrence Park in Chantilly, Virginia.
Kempton Bonds, a 19-year-old park worker, was arrested and charged with her murder.
Johns and Bonds, of Clifton, got into an argument while cleaning up chairs following the wedding, according to Fairfax County Police.
Tyonne D. Johns
"As the event came to an end, the verbal altercation continued, and the suspect, the Park Authority employee, apparently stabbed the victim with a knife," a Fairfax Police spokesperson said.
Police and EMS were called to the park at about 10:50 p.m.
Johns was taken to the hospital where she was pronounced dead.
Bonds was arrested and charged with second-degree murder.
Kempton A. Bonds
Family shares memories of Ty
James Johns never wanted to be mourning the loss of his older sister.
"I can't express the pain and heartache that I feel," he said, "and it's no comparison to my mother."
Before moving to the DC area, Johns grew up in Hopewell.
She played on the JV basketball team at Hopewell High School.
"A lot of people know her for her basketball skills, she was a great basketball player," said her younger brother, James.
The 35-year-old owned her own catering company and was a popular chef in the Washington D.C. area.
Her younger brother James said Tyonne had always been a great cook, and that the talent ran in the family.
"She got her passion from her grandma, she wasn't a chef by profession but she was the best chef that we all know," he said.
The death of Tyonne is especially difficult for her mother, Sonya Johns.
This is the second child she's lost.
Back in 2006, she said her son was murdered in Hopewell.
"You don't have the right to take anybody's life regardless of what," said Sonya Johns, "and not only this violence but all the violence going on in this world needs to stop."
Friends have established a GoFundMe account in honor of Tyonne and to help raise money for funeral expenses.
If you would like to contribute, you can go here: https://www.gofundme.com/ACryForChefTy
