The fiancée of a journalist killed in a shooting in Florida last month said she is raising money to have his children through artificial insemination after harvesting his sperm immediately following his death.
“Dylan and I wanted nothing more than to get married and have children,” Casey Fite, 26, wrote of her late fiancé Dylan Lyons, 24, on a GoFundMe page seeking funds for the procedure.
Lyons was covering the aftermath of a fatal shooting in Orlando on Feb. 22 when the alleged gunman returned to the scene and opened fire, striking Lyons and his cameraman who survived his injuries, authorities said.
On the night of his death, Fite said the idea of harvesting his sperm was brought up to her by Lyons’ mother.
Being a father was “all Dylan talked about,” his mother, Beth Lyons, told “Good Morning America” of her suggestion. “For Casey to pass on his legacy would be just beautiful because they were just two beautiful souls made for each other.”
Fite, who said she started dating Lyons in late 2021 after meeting the previous year, said she immediately contacted doctors about collecting and freezing his sperm, with there being a narrow window where sperm can be salvageable for in vitro fertilization after the host’s death.
A doctor agreed to the procedure and was able to retrieve eight vials of his sperm, which she told “Good Morning America” she’ll keep frozen until she recovers physically and emotionally from her grief and feels well enough to complete a pregnancy.
“I know I only have so many chances and I just feel like if I were to do it right now there would be too much stress on it, and I would end up miscarrying, and that’s not something I want,” Fite said.
Fite said she plans to raise the children on her own because she doesn’t believe she’ll find another partner like Lyons. She said her family is very supportive and would help.