‘Our families are connected’: Dylan Lyons and T’ionna Major’s loved ones share their stories

Alex BurtonMarch 2, 2023

ORLANDO, Florida. Tears, sobs, cruel hugs and even a little laugh filled the room in attorney Mark Nejaim’s office as the families of two of the three victims of last week’s Pine Hills shootout got together and made their first public appearance on Thursday.

Gary and Beth Lyons, parents of Spectrum News 13 reporter Dylan Lyons, 24, along with their fiancée Casey Fite, joined Nejama and parents of 9-year-old T’ionna Major, Brandi and Tokyo Major to talk about their loved ones.

Nejame said the families approached him for legal representation and then asked for a meeting.

The third victim of the shooting, 38-year-old Natacha Augustin, Nejame does not represent.

“I have seen a lot in my long career, but to witness the meeting of these two wonderful families is a memory that I will remember forever,” Nejame said during a press conference. “When they met, they instantly hugged, hugged and sobbed with each other. They didn’t let go of each other.”

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This connection was evident when Beth Lyons, Casey Fite and Brandi Major were holding each other tightly.

“Our families are bound by this tragedy,” said Gary Lyons, father of Dylan Lyons, in a pre-arranged speech.

As Gary Lyons began to speak, he gave Tokiyo Major a big hug.

The parents of 9-year-old Tionna Major remember her as the girl who showed so much love for others. (Brandi and Tokyo Major)

Brandi and Tokiyo Major didn’t stay for the entire press conference. Brandi Major tried to contain herself as she talked about her 9-year-old daughter, her “Yaya”, but she eventually had to leave the room.

“She wanted to be remembered for the love she gave,” Brandi Major said. “She also wanted equality for the homeless. And she wanted to give to all the little kids who needed things, like she was just my heart, my angel, and I’m going to miss her so much.”

Brandi Major herself was shot dead by a suspect, 19-year-old Kevin Moses, who is charged with first-degree murder in connection with the deaths of Augustin, T’ionna, and Lyons, as well as attempted first-degree murder in the shooting of the girl’s mother and Photographer Spectrum News 13 29 year old Jesse Walden.

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Nejame said she held her wounded daughter in her arms and tried to protect her even though she herself was shot.

Tokiyo Major described his daughter as his everything, trying to speak between sobs.

“My soul is gone,” he said. “It’s hard, just hard. It’s hard, dude. She was everything to me, I just want the world to know about it. Until we meet again, Yaya, daddy loves you.”

Gary Lyons has described his only son, Dylan Lyons, as being devoted to his family and acting as a father figure to his nephew and niece.

Gary and Beth Lyons remember their son, 24-year-old Spectrum 13 News reporter Dylan Lyons, as someone who loved his family and helped everyone. (Gary and Beth Lyons)

“It’s impossible to describe his relationship with my wife (Dylan’s mother). I was often the third wheel in relationships,” his father said.

Beth Lyons, hiding her eyes in large sunglasses, clutched in her hand a large pillow and a blanket with the face of Dylan Lyons, gifts from her son.

“He was just a special, special soul,” Beth Lyons said. “Not only my son, he will help the world. When Dylan was killed, I died too. No words can express it. As a mother, he should have buried me, and I shouldn’t have buried him.”

Beth Lyons said she would like to work with professors at the University of Central Florida, her son’s alma mater, to improve news crew safety.

Gary Lyons spoke about how important it is for his son to be a professional as a journalist, saying that his son has said he wants to be “the next David Muir” and has empathy for people.

“He now had more shoes than I ever had in my life,” Gary Lyons said of his son’s professional wardrobe.

But even as he shared tidbits meant to make people smile, his deep grief was visible.

“My son always promised to take care of my wife, family and children when I was gone, because I told him that it was his responsibility, and he said: “Dad, I will do it for you,” said Gary Lyons. “It should not be”.

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Gary Lyons called fiancee Casey Fite the love of Dylan’s life.

“She is like a daughter to us and she will always be with us,” he said.

Casey Veit said that she and Dylan had the kind of love the world was looking for.

Veit said she will never forget the day she and Dylan Lyons met at a news station in Gainesville, when he introduced himself as “office hottie.”

“From the moment I met my Dylan, I knew he was special,” she said.

Veith said she wanted to fulfill Dylan’s wish to have a baby together. She said that a group of doctors managed to freeze Dylan’s sperm and she would try to get pregnant through in vitro fertilization.

“I know that he would like me to give birth to our child. I’m just completely devastated that he can’t be here because we got so excited,” she said.

Veit urged people who watch the series to cherish the moments spent with their loved ones.

“You see gun violence happening all over the country, but you never think it will happen to your family,” she said.

Nejame and his family used the press conference to highlight their concerns about gun violence and to criticize Governor Ron DeSantis and Senator Rick Scott for using the tragedy to create a “false narrative” that blamed the shooting on a politician. Orange Osceola State Attorney Monique Worrell to dismiss their own gun policy.

The Lyons family said they would have a private service and some kind of event at UCF. Nejame said that the Major family would have a service and then a public vigil. The details are still being worked out.

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