GREENSBORO, N.C. — Greensboro Police got a call about a shooting on Floyd Street early Monday morning and found 61-year-old Michael Lea.
He was taken to the hospital and died from his injuries.
Police arrested Mikayla Nicole Lea, 22. Mikayla is facing charges for first-degree murder in connection to the shooting death of her father.
Wednesday was her first appearance in court.
Her family was there and was emotional, grabbing each other's arms when they saw Mikayla Lea appear virtually in the courtroom.
Her family said their hearts are torn.
"My mom has taken the loss both ways. We've lost my sister to the system, and then we lost her father as well, so our family is kind of stuck behind a rock and a hard place," said her brother Micah Galloway. "We have mixed emotions."
Both Mikayla's sister and brother spoke about how Mikayla had a full-ride scholarship to college and how out of character this felt.
"We do have to face the reality about the situation that our sister did commit a crime, but there has to be a reason for it, I am almost positive it's justifiable, the reason that she had to kill the person that she loved the most, and out of everybody she loved her daddy," said Galloway.
The prosecution said they found Mikayla Lea the morning after the shooting barricaded in the home.
They said she eventually came out where she was then arrested.
The family is asking that if anyone knows what happened -- to reach out.
"Anybody that knows Mikayla and knows her well knows that this is not like our sister," Mikayla's sister Kushana Galloway said. "You can remain anonymous, we won't say anything, we just want to know the truth of what really happened that night."
The siblings said that it isn't clear what led up to this, knowing the bond the two shared.
"Mikayla adored her father, and she protected him in so many ways," Kushana said.
The family is hopeful they will get answers as the investigation and court case plays out.
"That's not our sister, that's not, and if it is something, we want all things to be covered, whether that's a psychological examination, whether that's counseling, because some small stories did come out in regards to things that could have led to that, and cause her harm and her father may not have been protecting her," Kushana said.
She was served the warrant Tuesday and is currently in the Guilford County Detention Center with no bond.
Mikayla Lea did not receive bond and is expected to be back in court on August 30th.
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