Shannon Vincel, a St. Louis native and a cancer patient, was beaten to death in Illinois after flying to the state to receive radiation treatments, according to reports.
“She was a gentle loving, sweet girl, and she would’ve never hurt anybody,” said Anita Adams, Shannon’s mother.
Gentle, yes, and tough.
Her family says Vincel had been battling breast cancer with everything she had- even undergoing a double mastectomy. Adam says her daughter traveled to Zion, Illinois Monday night for her latest round of radiation treatments.
“She said ‘we’re here, we’re here. I love you mom.’ I said, ‘I love you too, be careful,’ and that was the last time I talked to her,” said Adam.
It was around 9:30 p.m. Monday night that Vincel and another patient were waiting for a hospital shuttle to take them to a nearby the treatment center.
“She thought she was in a safe area because it was on hospital grounds,” said Adam.
Suddenly, a man approached and began to attack Vincel with a blunt object. Her family says it wasn’t a robbery and that there’s no clear motive. Adam says there were video surveillance cameras, but so far police don’t have any leads.
“She was just sitting there waiting for the shuttle to pick her up and take her to treatment. Why would anyone just walk up and beat a girl from behind, without warning and just beat her to death? Why?” said Adam.
The Cancer Centers of America is now offering a $25,000 reward for information surrounding the case.
Adam says the only comfort she can imagine at this point comes from the idea of catching her daughter’s murderer.
“He was just pure evil. So it would be wonderful to get this– I can’t even call him a person. I don’t know what I can call him. If that thing were off the streets. Because no one is safe with people like that out walking around,” said Adam.