Rapper Juvenile trying to cope with death of young daughter

ATLANTA - His manager said today that rap star Juvenile is ``shocked and devastated'' by the shooting death of his young daughter, the girl's mother and another child.

Manager Aubrey Francis said the 32-year-old rapper is still trying to cope with the death of 4-year-old Jelani; her mother, 39-year-old Joy Deleston; and the woman's daughter Micaiah, 11, whose bodies were found Thursday night in their home.

Francis said, ``It really shocked him and devastated him to the point where I've never seen him before. Right now he is relaxing and trying to grasp everything of what has happened.''

Meanwhile, 17-year-old Anthony Tyrone Terrell Junior is being held in the DeKalb County jail, charged in the deaths of his mother a Gwinnett County sheriff's deputy and siblings at the home near Lawrenceville, outside Atlanta. He was arrested yesterday.

Gwinnett County court records show Deleston brought a paternity lawsuit in 2004, claiming that Juvenile, whose real name is Terius Gray, was Jelani's father. Both parties later agreed Juvenile was the father.

Francis said Juvenile, who is in New Orleans, had been making regular child support payments.

In 1998, Juvenile released his third album, ``400 Degreez,'' which sold 4 million copies. At one time he was part of the four-man group The Hotboyz, along with Lil Wayne, Young Turk and B.G.

Attorney Randy Kessler, who represented Juvenile in the paternity suit, said today he had not talked with the rapper about the killings.

Kessler said, ``Any time you have a situation like that, it's shocking.''

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