Mother of Student Killed in Fire Speaks Out
This video is no longer available.
JACKSON, Tenn. — For the first time, Diane Sterling, the mother of the Jackson Central-Merry High School student killed when their house caught fire talks about her family’s loss. “It’s been hard on me, it’s been so hard,” Diane Sterling said. “Y’all just don’t know, my heart is broken.” The mother said even a month later the pain of losing her baby boy has not eased. Tyrone Sterling, 17, known as “Bubba” to friends, died when the family’s house caught fire last month. Just last week, a letter written by the teen was found at his school. “He was trying to tell everybody don’t worry or wonder how you gonna die, just be the perfect person you could in life,” Diane Sterling said. The Sterlings said even in a new house they do not feel safe. Firefighters said because of the intensity of the flames, the cause cannot be determined. Investigators said the fire was not suspicious but that gives the family little comfort. “I haven’t been able to sleep, I haven’t been able to stay in the dark for long, i just feel so empty and so uncomfortable,” said Tyrone’s sister Lakia Bowen. Ole Miss, where the JCM standout hoped to play football one day, sent the family a jersey in his honor. But Diane said nothing seems to bring closure. “In the daytime it’s OK a little bit, I can think he’s at school,” Diane said. “But when the night time come, I’m ready for him to come in there and say, ‘mamma, what do you need?'” The mother said she was not sure when her son wrote or left the letter that was recently found. She said thanks to generous donations from her job and the community they were able to move into their new home.
