The family of 30-year-old Starmichael “Star” Tucker is mourning her death after she was fatally shot 15 times last week in Escambia County, a killing prosecutors say was carried out by her boyfriend and now elevated to a federal case.

Tucker, originally from California, built a life in Florida after graduating from Florida A&M University with a nursing degree and later serving in the U.S. Air Force. She had been working in Pensacola and raising her young son when her life was cut short on August 21.

Authorities say Tucker was killed at The Crossings at Nine Mile Road Apartment Homes on Baldridge Drive. Her boyfriend, 30-year-old Charles Carson-Dowdy of Mobile, Ala., has been indicted on charges of cyberstalking, interstate domestic violence, murder through use of a firearm, discharging a firearm during a crime of violence, as well as possession of a firearm by a convicted felon.

U.S. Attorney John P. Heekin said Carson-Dowdy is scheduled to appear before Magistrate Judge Hope Thai Cannon on August 28 in Pensacola. If convicted, he could face life in prison.

For Tucker’s family, the loss feels almost impossible to absorb. Her sister, Raya Tucker, told local reporters she never saw warning signs in her sister’s relationship. “I didn’t see any red flags. Then I should have caught it,” she said.

Federal prosecutors say the case is being investigated by multiple agencies, both state and local Assistant U.S. Attorney David L. Goldberg will lead the prosecution.

Officials were quick to remind the public that an indictment is only a formal allegation and that Carson-Dowdy is presumed innocent until proven guilty. Still, the range of charges reflects the seriousness of what investigators allege was not only an act of violence but one that crossed state lines and involved a convicted felon in possession of a firearm.

Tucker’s family has been left to piece together the reality of her absence. A mother, a nurse, a veteran, a sister — her story is now bound up in court filings and legal arguments, even as her relatives grieve a life that was lived with purpose and ended with senseless brutality.

“She deserved so much more,” Raya said. “My sister loved hard, and she loved her son even harder. That’s what we’re holding on to now.”