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Family friend: Man accused of killing girlfriend has mental illness

Posted at 6:22 PM, Mar 14, 2012
and last updated 2012-03-14 23:35:55-04

HENRICO COUNTY, Va. (WTVR) – A family friend of the man accused of killing his ex-girlfriend in her Henrico home Tuesday morning said he is mentally ill.

Twenty-one-year-old Tiffany Lakesha Green was shot and killed early Tuesday morning, allegedly at the hands of 19-year-old Alvin Rashawn Marshall.

"In his right mind and on medication, he wouldn't have did that," said Valafsie Walters, a family friend of Marshall's.

Walters said Marshall had a mental illness and would only run into trouble when he wasn't taking his medication.

"I have seen Alvin jump out the bedroom window, when he's not on his medicine. But when he's on the medicine, he's the perfect child, the perfect little boy. I just don't know what happened," Walters said.

Police, including U.S. Marshalls and ATF agents, found Marshall unconscious inside an abandoned apartment on Chamberlayne Avenue after a nearly 24-hour manhunt. Officials said it was clear Marshall had ingested something and needed medical attention.

The suspect was taken to VCU Medical Center, where he remains under close supervision.

Additionally, court documents show Green had filed two emergency protective orders against Marshall in January and February, but was continuously being stalked by him at home and at work.

In late February, Green alleged that Marshall came to her work at a Goodwill store and hit and choked her in front of customers.

He was arrested, but posted bail that night.

"I always tells my girls to love yourself and when you're in a relationship like this it's best to let it go," said Sheila Green, Tiffany's mother.

Green said living without her daughter is an unthinkable nightmare, knowing that her young granddaughter will live a life without the mother she loved. [READ MORE: Victim’s mom: ‘What he took from us we can never get back’]

Police said Green's  5-year-old daughter, as well as her 15 and 5-year-old younger sisters were asleep inside the home when Marshall allegedly shot and killed her.

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