Photo story: Family of beloved Northwestern High football player handles grief

Whenever Nathalie Jean misses her son Yahkeim Lollar, she has to visit his grave at Southern Memorial Park in North Miami.

On Dec. 20, 2024, Yahkeim — affectionately known as “Keimo” and a beloved football player and junior at Miami Northwestern Senior High — was stabbed to death. In the past year-and-a-half, Yahkeim’s family and friends have had to grapple with their devastating loss while also navigating court proceedings.

READ MORE: ‘Justice was served.’ Killer of beloved Miami Northwestern athlete is sentenced

Jean never imagined that Jahara Malik, Yahkeim’s on-again, off-again girlfriend, would be the reason why Yahkeim would be killed. Malik, 18, was sentenced on Tuesday to 17 years in prison followed by five years of probation for the killing.

“She was 17 years old, and I hope that when she’s sitting in prison, she sits with what she did for 17 years,” Jean said in court.

Dozens of Yahkeim’s family members and friends packed the courtroom during the sentencing. They told the judge stories about Yahkeim — and detailed what was stolen from them when he was killed. “Each of these statements represents something the law too often reduces to a footnote: the full, irreversible human weight of what was taken,” said Melba Pearson, the Lollar family’s attorney.

Here is a look at the tragic case in photos shot by the Miami Herald.