My name is Jessica Windham, and I am writing this with a shattered heart. In June 2026, my mom, Teresa Louise Windham, was found in a vacant dirt lot in Palmdale, CA. Because her body was discovered in an advanced state of decomposition, the pain of losing her under these circumstances is completely overwhelming. I am now the only one left in my immediate family—my brother was tragically murdered in Palmdale in 2000, and my dad passed away from lung cancer in 2002. With my mom now gone, I feel more alone than ever.

Growing up, I never really got the chance to know her. She ran away from home at just 14 years old to escape severe abuse from both of her parents. The person who was supposed to protect her—her father—hurt her deeply, and when she turned to her mother for help, she was blamed instead. While my dad's side took my mom in off the streets and then raised my brother and me, I always held onto the hope that my mom and I would become closer and getting a chance to meet her grandchildren and forming a relationship with us but someone took that chance away from us when they left her in a vacant dirt lot.

Despite the immense trauma she endured, my mom was a fighter. She loved all animals, and she loved her two children. Because of the deep scars from her childhood, she felt that we would be better off with family than with her raising my brother and me. All my life, I just wanted her love, and I wish I could have told her that I loved her unconditionally, no matter what and I understand now more ever because of my own children.

Right now, I am facing the daunting task of covering her funeral expenses and memorial arrangements alone. Her body has not been released yet by the coroner, but I am trying to do everything I can to be financially ready for when she is.