Long Beach teacher stabbed, killed in front of students

LONG BEACH, Calif. (KABC) -- A teacher was stabbed to death right in front of her students in Long Beach on Friday afternoon, police said.

Kellye Taylor, 53, was the second oldest of five sisters. Her close-knit family is devastated by her murder.

Taylor was a teacher at Huntington Academy, a small elementary school in Long Beach owned by her mother.

"She loved children, and she loved being around children. She loved teaching children, and that's what she did," said Vanessa Kelly, the victim's sister.

Police say Taylor was sitting in a park across the street from the school around 1:30 p.m. watching her students play when a man suddenly walked up and stabbed her in front of the children.

"She was sitting inside of a folding chair, just inside of that concrete bench, when the suspect came up from behind and stabbed her," said Sgt. Aaron Eaton with the Long Beach Police Department.

Witnesses pointed out the suspect and police captured him a few blocks from the park. He has been identified as 50-year-old Steven Brown. He is being held on $1 million bail.

"The victim had a daughter and this was the father of her daughter's children," said Eaton.

Family members say Taylor had custody of the four grandchildren from her daughter's relationship with Brown. Relatives say they want justice for Taylor.

"I don't know why he did what he did," said Kelly.

Long Beach police say the motive for the murder remains under investigation.

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