Murdered Journalist’s Fiance Says It Was His MOTHER’S Idea To Harvest His Sperm After He Died
The fiancé of a murdered Florida journalist who plans to have his baby through IVF has revealed it was his mother’s idea to harvest his sperm the night he died.
Case Fite planned to start a family with Dylan Lyons, 24, before he was killed while broadcasting a report for Spectrum News 13 on Feb. 22.
Last week, she launched a GoFundMe to raise $50,000 so she can get IVF to implant his sperm and keep “Dylan’s legacy alive.”
In the post, she said she begged several doctors to extract the semen from his dead body — and finally found one who agreed.
Now she has revealed that the idea was conceived by Beth, Lyon’s mother, after she received a “message” from her dead son.
Dylan Lyons and Casey Fite planned to start a family together before he was shot on Feb. 22
Lyon’s mother, Beth, pictured, told Good Morning America that she came up with the idea of having her late son’s sperm harvested the night he died
“We had come home from the hospital after learning that our lives were forever turned upside down and his mom and I were in the kitchen and she believes it was Dylan who messaged her because she never thought about this before Fite told Good Morning America.
“She didn’t even know this was something you could do. And me neither.’
Mom Beth added, “All Dylan was talking about is having kids with Casey.
Their love was inseparable. They even picked names. That’s how dedicated they were to having children.’
Lyons made headlines when he was one of three people – including a nine-year-old girl and her mother – who were shot while reporting on a murder that had taken place in the area five hours earlier.
Suspect Keith Melvin Moses, 19, was arrested the same day in connection with the murders.
Fite, 26, said the process of retrieving Dylan’s semen was “very complicated.”
She also revealed that she was advised by a grief counselor to wait a year before proceeding with IVF.
“We called the hospital and the hospital told us to contact the medical examiner.
Lyons poses with his fiancee and mother at the Florida Association of Broadcast Journalists Awards on May 7, 2022
As of Wednesday, a GoFundMe created by Fite to raise money for her IVF had raised $4,718
Lyons (right) and his fiancé Casey Lynn. The couple met in 2020 and started dating in November 2021
And they said they can’t. But if we found a doctor who could perform it, they’d be okay with it. Finally we found one.’
As of Wednesday, the GoFundMe page had raised $4,718.
Fite added, “I’ve been recommended by a grief counselor to wait maybe a year. At this point, it’s just not the best idea to go through with this right now.
“This is something I’m going to do, but I’m not doing it today. Right now I’m just trying to grieve.
“I think this is what keeps me going at the moment. To know I can carry on Dylan’s legacy. Continue with what we wanted. I have high expectations.’
She speculated that she would “miscarry” if she tried to have a baby now because of the “stress.”
Lyons and Fite met in 2020 when they both worked at the television news station in Gainesville, Florida.
She was a producer while Lyons was an on-air reporter.
They started dating in November 2021 and later moved to Orlando for Lyon’s job and planned to start a family.
Last year, Lyons wrote on Twitter about his partner, “November 7, 2021 changed my life forever! It’s the day you became my girlfriend! That was one of the easiest decisions of my life!
Lyons had dreamed of starting a family with Fite, his family says, and had even chosen the name for his children
A memorial to Lyons is pictured on February 23, the day after he was killed while reporting
“You are a remarkable, beautiful, kind, loving and caring girl Case! I love you so much!’
Fite said they even picked the names Alexa and Elliott for their kids — inspired by Lyon’s grandparents’ initials.
Lyon’s father, Gary, told a press conference last week that his son was “so eager to be a husband and father,” adding, “I wish I could have taken the bullet.”
The first case of posthumous semen retrieval was recorded in 1980, according to the Journal of Fertility and Sterility.
Sperm should be collected within 24 to 36 hours of death for the best chance of success.
But there are plenty of ethical and legal implications.
Once the sperm has been extracted, it can be frozen and then implanted when the woman is ready.
Keith Melvin Moses, 19, is charged with shooting the reporter and cameraman after they reported the death of Moses’ first victim – Nathacha Augustin, 38
It comes as Lyon’s suspected killer, Keith Moses, is in jail in connection with his murder.
Moses – who was previously described as a career criminal – allegedly shot and killed 38-year-old Nathacha Augustin in her car on February 22.
Five hours later, Lyons was on the scene to report the murder when Moses allegedly returned and assaulted the journalist and his accompanying photographer Jesse Walden. Walden survived the attack.
Police were then called to a third shooting nearby – where a mother and her nine-year-old daughter were targeted in a residential home.
Moses would have been known to the first victim, but his motives for the other shootings are unclear, authorities said.
He was pictured grinning and smiling while handcuffed in connection with the shootings.