Our Story
Domestic violence and abuse prevention.
We are telling our story because we do not want you to experience the pain that we have endured.
On Sunday, May 12, 2013...
(Mother’s Day), Tracey Hightower, received the worst Mother’s Day news any mother could hear. Her daughter, Stacey Hightower, at the age of 32 died. Stacey did not die from natural causes or an accident. She was murdered because a predator willingly decided to end her life. He felt that he had that right. Even though he was convicted, and there were witnesses and DNA evidence, he still denied it. [We were told that this was expected. The perpetrator most of the time never admits guilt even if there is evidence.] He was given a life sentence in prison, but we now have a life sentence of finding peace and emotional healing through this pain. He murdered Stacey, but he also killed a part of us. So many lives were changed, and so many emotions surfaced (feelings of grief, anger, hurt, fear, and anxiety). That is what we want to prevent – another family from going through this tragedy.
Tragedy struck our family before...
On October 9, 1991, our beloved sister, Phoebe Hightower, also at the same age of 32, was murdered by her husband. He was convicted for that crime. However, after investigating the case, we found out that his first wife was also murdered the same way he killed our sister. No evidence was found on the scene, so no one was arrested. Being an only child, her mother was stricken with grief and no further action was taken. Our sister was sleeping with the enemy. In hindsight, we noticed that her husband had emotional problems (anger issues, extreme jealously, oversensitivity, instability, controlling and insecurity issues) that she tried to downplay. We blew if off as a personality disorder and thought that they just had marital problems, but we did not think it would be deadly. That is why we are stressing that people do not overlook these characteristics.
Unfortunately, there is no guarantee that help will arrive on time...
We want to help prevent the violence before it occurs. What happened to our family really opened our eyes – and subsequently, our hearts. Our goal is to bring awareness to the violence committed on females and provide tools to help prevent violence. We will not make it easy for a perpetrator to harm or murder again. Our loved ones’ spirits still shines and will continue to live on in our hearts.
We're here for you every step of the way. God bless you and stay safe,
- Sheila Hightower White, Tracey Hightower, and Juanita Hightower
