Sierra Jamison (CBS News Chicago/YouTube screengrab), Lawrence Boyle (Chicago Police Department)

A 30-year-old Chicago phlebotomist and mother to a 6-year-old boy, whom she said last month had open heart surgery, was found strangled to death Monday in a garage outside of a home she was renting.

Sierra Jamison, who had just celebrated her 30th birthday, was interviewed as recently as August on local CBS affiliate WBBM-TV as part of a segment on violence against Black women.

During the interview, Jamison spoke about being the victim of a carjacking at knife-point. She also spoke about how much her son means to her.

"My Jeep, my Wrangler, that was something for a gift for myself because I know how hard I worked for it, I know how many sacrifices I've done for my family, my son, because he's been through a lot," she said. "My son had open heart surgery, he has a disability, so he means a lot to me. And I'm not [going to] let this young man, with a knife at that, take anything I work hard away from me."

Tragically, Jamison was brutally killed a month later, leaving her son without a mother.

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The Chicago Police Department has since identified 63-year-old Lawrence Curtis Boyle as the suspect in the first-degree murder case. Boyle was arrested on Wednesday, two days after Jamison's strangulation death.

"He was identified as the offender who, on September 18, 2023, at approximately 6:35 p.m., in the 7800 block of S. Indiana Ave. (6th District)," cops said. "The offender was placed into custody and subsequently charged accordingly."

Boyle was someone Jamison knew, according to her aunt Sadina Jameson.

"This is someone she was comfortable around. This is someone she trusted so she had no reason to fear," she told CBS.

Local ABC affiliate WLS reported that Jamison's mother Alice Jamison found her in the garage outside her home around an hour after she was murdered. She reportedly said her daughter had been renting the property from a former co-worker and that she was planning to attend nursing school.

"I can't wrap my mind around it. Seeing her in this garage like that. I am really hurting right now," the grieving mother told Chicago NBC affiliate WMAQ-TV. "I want this man arrested, and I want him to go to jail for life."

Jamison's heartbroken colleagues have started a GoFundMe campaign to help her son:

The news of our beloved friend and colleague, Sierra Jamison, has left us all in a state of profound shock and sorrow. Those fortunate enough to have crossed paths with Sierra can attest to the extraordinary individual she was. Her absence has undoubtedly cast a shadow over the world, leaving it a lesser place. It is with heavy hearts that we acknowledge Sierras legacy, as she leaves behind a precious 6-year-old son. In this trying time, let us unite and extend our unwavering support to ensure his future, recognizing the lifelong expenses that lie ahead in raising him.