Kellye Lynnette Taylor, 53

Kellye Lynette Taylor, a 53-year-old black woman, was fatally stabbed Friday, Oct. 11, in the 1400 block of Orizaba Avenue in Long Beach, according to Los Angeles County coroner’s records.

Taylor was sitting on a folding chair at Orizaba Park watching her students play when a man walked up from behind, thrust a sharp object into her neck and ran off, police said.

Taylor was pronounced dead at 3:03 p.m. at a hospital, according to coroner’s records.

Police charged Steven Brown, a 52-year-old black man, with murder. Brown was the boyfriend of Taylor’s daughter, Tia. According to court records, Brown claimed that Taylor was an “informant” who told social workers he abused his children.

The county confirmed the abuse and in March gave Taylor custody of five children – ages 2 to 17 – who had been living with Brown and Tia Taylor.

Brown is the biological father of three of the five children Taylor had in her custody. He was furious about having the children taken away, according to a lawsuit he filed in July against Long Beach police, the Los Angeles County Department of Children and Family Services and several social workers.

He placed much of the blame on Taylor. In court papers, he referred to her repeatedly as an "informant," even writing the word in the margins of documents he filed with the court. He claimed she told social workers that he was an unfit parent and advised her daughter that she would be "better off without Steven Brown."

His suit sought financial compensation from the government agencies and the return of the children. Brown has prior felony convictions for burglary, robbery and drug possession, as well as a 2011 conviction for child cruelty.

Kellye Taylor worked at Huntington Academy, a school her mother started. She was known as “Miss Kellye.”

“She was extremely dedicated to her profession and did everything to provide an education to children,” said Rohda Johnson, a reading teacher at the academy.

Contact the Homicide Report. Follow @latimeshomicide on Twitter.