Scierra and José Ervin, Jr. made headlines last year when they had twins born on the couple’s shared birthday Aug. 18 — what José then declared to PEOPLE had been the “best birthday present ever.”
Days after A’Ria and José Ervin III’s births, the proud father, then 31, was already planning the family of four’s first joint birthday.
“We can just do one big celebration, do it all at one time,” José told PEOPLE, adding, “That would be beautiful.”
But less than two months after that much-anticipated first birthday celebration – and with Scierra pregnant with the couple’s third child – José was gunned down in Garfield, Ohio, in the early morning hours of Friday, Oct. 4, in a case that has so far yielded no arrests.
José’s sister, Chloe’ Ervin-Dozier, confirmed his death to PEOPLE.
“Jose was the light of everybody’s life,” she says. “It’s hard that he’s not with us.”
José Ervin, Jr. with his twins, A’Ria and José III, after his college graduation ceremony in February 2024.
Gofundme
Garfield Heights police and the Cuyahoga County medical examiner did not respond to PEOPLE in time for publication, but regional outlets Cleveland.com, 19 News and ABC 5reported on the shooting.
José, 32, was shot multiple times at a Dunkin’ Donuts on Turney Road, according to his sister and ABC5.
The outlet reported that police had identified a car of interest in the case and that the nearby Shell gas station was also included in the shooting investigation.
Scierra and José Ervin, Jr. with their twins, A’Ria and José III, at Lee-Seville Baptist Church in Cleveland, Ohio on June 22, 2024.
Chloe’ Ervin-Dozier
Ervin-Dozier, 33, tells PEOPLE her brother had left a local bar with his best friend in the early morning hours of Friday and had headed to the gas station.
There, she says — citing video footage — cameras show that her brother asked a group of people for a cigarette, which quickly escalated into a confrontation.
Ervin-Dozier says her brother backed away when he saw that a man in the group had a gun, but, she says, José was eventually shot a short distance away at the Dunkin’ Donuts.
In a phone interview Friday afternoon, Oct. 11, Ervin-Dozier said the family is still waiting for an arrest.
“He chased my brother down like he was prey,” she said of the shooter.
José was transported to Marymount Hospital, where he died at 3:34 a.m. on Oct. 4, according to his sister.
José’s death comes as the couple — whose whirlwind romance was quickly followed by the birth of their twins in the summer of 2023 — were settling into their newfound family life.
Scierra and José had just married in a large ceremony at Lee-Seville Baptist Church in Cleveland on June 22.
Less than two months later, the newlyweds celebrated their quadruple birthday party with a vanilla buttercream frosting cake covered in sprinkles with a “One” candle shooting out of piped icing.
Because the twins had colds that day, the couple stayed in. They FaceTimed extended family — including Ervin-Dozier and her sons, as well as José’s other three siblings and parents, who had each prepared for the call by getting their own cakes to join in on the celebration.
“We partied — we really had a good time,” recalls Ervin-Dozier, adding that the virtual party had lasted four hours. “I genuinely think for José, this party was one for the books.”
She added that her brother’s life wish had already been granted: “All José wanted to do was to be a father.”
In recent months, the family put down a deposit on a home in Parma, Ohio. Now, Scierra – who is 10 weeks pregnant – does not want to live alone in the home the couple had dreamed of together.
Ervin-Dozier says the couple does not yet know if the baby will be a boy or a girl, but prior to José’s death, the couple had picked out a name that would work either way: Terry, after José’s grandfather and aunt.
Looking toward the family’s future, José — who celebrated his college graduation with a degree in building maintenance in February — had enrolled in a welding program and was slated to start Monday, Oct. 14.
He had also started his own HVAC building maintenance company, which he had named José & Sons — “and he only had one son,” his sister says with a laugh: “But he was banking on Terry being another boy.”
A GoFundMe has been set up to help cover the costs of José Ervin, Jr.’s funeral and to help support his wife and children.
