Andrea Winters’ friendship with Chervon Alexander began back in 2006, when they met in a criminal justice degree program. According to Winters, they maintained a close relationship, often getting together for dinner or a night out at a club.
“She was extremely outgoing,” Winters said, of the friend she remembered for her love of children and great sense of humor. Winters said Alexander had a daughter and also had custody of a young male relative. She doted on both children.
Winters said that Alexander did talk occasionally about her relationship with Devin Bickham, known only to her friend as “D.” She said that to her knowledge, the relationship began back in September or October of last year.
“She seemed very happy with him,” winters said. “She thought that they were going to get married.”
Winters said she never met Bickham, but knew that he was the jealous type.
“That’s why she stopped hanging out with us so much, because he began to display his jealous traits,” she said. “When she did hang out with us, if he called, she had to leave.” Alexander also deleted her Facebook account, because of her boyfriend’s jealousy.
However, Alexander’s Myspace Web page still exists. Sporting a pink background covered with hearts, Alexander’s profile lists her marital status as “engaged.”
Winters said she had no idea Bickham was married to another woman, and doubted that Alexander knew either.
“He had to be, at the very least, leading her on. … If she knew [that he was married] from the beginning, I don’t think she would have stayed in that relationship,” Winters said. “She’s not the type of girl to obsess over a guy.”
Winters, who now works for an immigration law firm, said Alexander had been looking into a career as a police officer or probation officer before her death, and hoped to someday work with kids as well. She said she was shocked to hear the news of her friend’s murder.
“She was one of the best fiends that anyone could ask for,” Winters said.