APOPKA, Fla. — Orange County deputies continue searching for clues in the murder of a woman who was shot and killed in Apopka.
A memorial now sits along South Central Avenue for 56-year-old Olinka Jabitta.
The victim’s mother says she knew immediately something was wrong.
“I hear shots back there. And before I could get out the door, they said that Olinka had been shot,” said Carol Maner.
The sound of the gunfire was captured on a neighbor’s doorbell camera.
Maner says her daughter was also her caregiver and is still struggling to process the loss after deputies say Jabitta was shot and killed Monday evening.
“Try to get this person off the street because if they did it to her, they’ll do it to somebody else,” Maner said.
Investigators say the shooting happened around 5:30 p.m. Monday on South Central Avenue in Apopka.
“She didn’t deserve to die like that because she was caring for people,” Maner said.
According to her mother, Jabitta was the mother of four grown children and regularly helped people experiencing homelessness in the area.
“Stayed in a tent back here they’d come by and people that needed help, she would help them,” Maner said.
Maner says this was not the first time her daughter had been struck by gunfire.
“They had a shootout last weekend, she got shot in the arm,” she said.
But Maner says her daughter never contacted authorities because she feared retaliation.
“I ain’t gonna call the police because they, these people, they are retaliating,” Maner recalled her daughter saying.
Records show Jabitta had a previous criminal history years ago, including charges involving drugs, check forging and burglary. Earlier this year, she was also ticketed for leaving the scene of a crash without providing information.
Jockquial Thomas, a childhood friend of Jabitta’s, remembered her as someone who cared deeply about others.
“She was a good person. She had a good heart,” Thomas said.
Maner says the last thing her daughter told her was, “I love you.”
“I loved her. And I don’t know what I’m going to do without her,” she said.
Anyone with information about the case is asked to contact Crimeline at 800-423-TIPS.
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