BEGGS, Okla. -- It has been a raw and emotional week for one Beggs teen who said he saw the moment his best friend took his last breath.
Police said Kayson Toliver was shot and killed by his mother last week while Eddieson Baldridge witnessed it all.
Kayson was not only a best friend to Eddieson, but a brother.
“It’s hard to not text him and say ‘Hey do you want to hang out,’” Eddieson said.
The two had an unbreakable bond, cut short Nov. 1 after police said Kayson’s mother, Amy Hall, did something unspeakable.
“[It was] a normal night,” Eddieson said. “She cooked dinner… told us goodnight, and we went to bed.”
The two friends were both asleep in bed when Eddieson said his phone began to vibrate, waking him up from his sleep. He said the charger for the phone had been acting funny, so he messed with it awhile before closing his eyes. After trying to fall back asleep, he said he heard some movement.
“I woke up to a light on and [Kayson’s] mom on his side of the bed,” Eddieson said. “She told me ‘Sorry’ and that’s when she done it.”
Hall reportedly shot her son, killing him.
“I immediately just jumped out of the bed and [thought] fight or flight, and I took flight,” Eddieson said.
He adds once he ran out of the house he noticed Hall leave, so he went back inside and barricaded himself in Kayson’s bedroom until help arrived. He later learned Kayson’s sister Kloee had also been shot. She was not pronounced dead until Nov. 6. Another sister was also present but is doing OK.
Eddieson’s father, Jeff Baldridge, rushed to the scene once he heard the news.
“I don’t know if there’s any words that can express it you know,” he said. “It’s just a horrible situation all the way around.”
Jeff said he’s proud of his son, who ultimately led police to Hall who had fled the scene.
The Baldridge family is still coming to grips with the tragic loss, but moving forward by focusing on who Kayson was.
“I love him and I loved every moment we spent together,” Eddieson said.
Although the tragedy is still very surreal for Eddieson, he said he’s trying to move forward one day at a time.
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