MACON, Ga. — Tracy McWilliams says her best friend, Valinda Williams lit up a room.

"I went on to accomplish great things and I know she would have too. I know she would have," McWilliams said.

In 1989, McWilliams says 16-year-old Valinda was sweet, kind, and a proud mother to her young son.

"She really always wanted to be a mom. That was it. She really did. She would have lived an amazing life," McWilliams said. "And it just got cut short."

The young mother's life was cut short when she was found beaten and strangled in the stairwell of the Macon Health Club on June 26, 1989. The day before Tracy turned 16.

"She died the day before my 16th birthday. So my birthday is June 27th. So on June 26th, I always think about her, always, always, always for the last 35 years," McWilliams sai

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