Deputies arrested two men accused of stabbing a mom and daughter on Friday in Tice. Emily Perry's family tells NBC2 that Perry died over the weekend, and her mother is recovering from stab wounds.
"I didn't want to believe it," Perry's friend, Fanessa Ryder, said. "It just seemed unreal, not to a person like her who would give you the shirt off her back. She's the type of person that would give anybody anything, and I just couldn't believe it."
Ryder met Emily Perry through mutual friends about a decade ago. Since then, Ryder says Perry has been a lifelong friend.
"She was that friend. You could have met her yesterday or met her ten years ago like I did. But, she would always show love to everybody. And that's just who she was," Ryder said.
Ryder said Perry was loyal to her friends, family and her community. She says Perry graduated from Dunbar High School and opened up her own party rental business in Southwest Florida.
"She helped out the community and was very active with that," Ryder said.
Last Friday, everything changed.
According to the Lee County Sheriff's Office, deputies responded to a 911 call Friday from a woman along Montgomery Avenue in Tice who reported that two men attacked her and another woman. When deputies arrived at the home, LCSO says deputies found Perry and her mom with multiple stab wounds.
Both victims were transported to Gulf Coast Medical Center in critical condition.
"Detectives learned the two suspects had plotted to rob the women during the narcotics transaction. During the course of the robbery, they stabbed both victims," The Lee County Sheriff's Office said in a post Monday.
Surveillance footage from a nearby tire shop and witness statements identified Shad Loveless, 45, and Zachary Williams, 21, as suspects and arrested them.
As Perry's family and friends continue to process all of this, they have a message for the community: cherish your loved ones.
"Never take your friends for granted. Always cherish your loved ones when they're there for you, and especially the ones that are real friends," Ryder said. "People that are genuine, they're very hard to come by and always cherish them."
Perry's family says her mother, Traci, is still recovering. They are asking for prayers and donations to help with hospital costs.
Detectives interviewed both suspects, and they face multiple felonies, including second-degree murder, home invasion with a weapon, and aggravated battery.