REMEMBER Ava
Ava Ariah Walters
20 YEARS OLD ·
Fort Lauderdale,
Florida
Ava Walters was a 20-year-old college student from Fort Lauderdale, Florida, studying Health Information Management at Alabama State University. Her family remembered her as deeply loved, beautiful inside and out, with a loving heart and a strong love for her family. After her death away from home, loved ones organized a fundraiser to bring Ava back to Florida and support her family with funeral expenses.
Ava was from Fort Lauderdale and was beginning her second year at Alabama State University, where she studied Health Information Management. Her family described her as cherished by those who knew her and emphasized her love for her family. Alabama State University President Quinton Ross Jr. publicly mourned Ava’s death and extended condolences to her family, friends, classmates, and the university community.
THE RECORD
On the morning of August 23, 2026, Ava and Bivens were together in temporary off-campus university housing in Montgomery. According to a homicide detective’s later court testimony, Bivens told investigators that he and Ava had a heated argument that morning. He claimed he subsequently choked Ava during what he characterized as a consensual act and discovered that she was unconscious when he released her.
Investigators testified that Bivens searched online for information about waking someone who had been choked unconscious and later contacted a friend by FaceTime. According to police testimony, Bivens gave that friend a different account, claiming Ava had struck her head on a nightstand. Bivens called police at approximately 10:54 a.m. and was instructed to perform CPR. Ava was pronounced dead when emergency responders arrived.
An autopsy determined that Ava died from manual strangulation. Investigators also testified that Ava’s injuries were inconsistent with portions of Bivens’s account and that Bivens had scratches on his torso and arms that police believed were defensive injuries.
RELATIONSHIP CONTEXT
Boyfriend
Ava and Jalil Bivens, who was also from the Fort Lauderdale area, were dating. According to testimony presented during Bivens’s Aniah’s Law hearing, he drove from Fort Lauderdale to Montgomery on the night before Ava’s death to surprise her. He met Ava and her best friend on campus, and the group later attended a party. Police testimony indicated that Bivens and Ava’s best friend argued about who Ava would spend time with. Ava and Bivens subsequently left together and went to the Hilton Garden Inn being used by Alabama State University as temporary student housing.
PATTERNS DOCUMENTED IN AVAILABLE RECORDS
These indicators reflect what could be established from available sources. Absence from this list does not establish that a behavior did not occur.
LEGAL / SYSTEM RESPONSE
Bivens was arrested and charged with murder following Ava’s death. During an Aniah’s Law hearing on August 26, 2026, a Montgomery homicide detective testified regarding Bivens’s statements to investigators, the autopsy findings, and physical evidence documented during the investigation. On August 28, a judge granted Bivens a $175,000 bond. As a condition of bond, District Judge Pamela Higgins prohibited him from leaving Alabama without court permission. The murder case remained pending in the available reporting.
INFORMATION LIMITATIONS
Because Ava’s homicide occurred recently and the criminal case remains unresolved in the sources reviewed, information about her relationship with Bivens before the fatal incident is limited. Available sources do not establish prior IPV, separation, a protective order, previous system contact involving Ava, stalking, prior threats to kill, coercive control, escalating violence, prior weapon threats, threats involving others, or self-harm/suicide threats. Information about Ava’s life beyond her family relationships, hometown, and education is also currently limited.
TRANSPARENCY / RECORD NOTE
Bivens is charged with Ava’s murder, and the criminal case remains pending in the available reporting. Statements regarding what occurred before Ava’s death—including Bivens’s characterization of the strangulation as consensual—are allegations or statements attributed to Bivens and should not be presented as fact. The medical finding establishes Ava’s cause of death as manual strangulation. Investigators testified that some of her injuries were inconsistent with Bivens’s account.
Police also testified that Bivens acknowledged having an AR-style pistol in his vehicle. Because the available evidence does not establish that he threatened Ava with that firearm, displayed it to control her, or otherwise used it against her, this does not establish Firearm/Weapon Threat or Access under TVT’s relationship-risk coding.
REMEMBER Ava.
Every statistic had a name. Every name had a life.
If you or someone you know is in immediate danger, contact local emergency services. Quick Exit leaves the current page but does not erase browser history.
REMEMBER • RECOGNIZE • BREAK