Hazel Reese.Photo: GoFundMe
Hazel “Nene” Reese, 36, was killed in an apparent murder-suicide at a Brookhaven, Ga., hotel, according to a statement from the Brookhaven Police Department.
She leaves behind two sons, aged 10 and 16.
Police responded to the scene on Saturday, Dec. 24, after someone reported hearing gunshots on the second floor of the Microtel hotel around 9 a.m. Upon arrival, officers saw Reese lying facedown in the elevator, already deceased. Steven Oliver, 40, was found with a gunshot wound to the head, according to the police statement. He was still alive at that time, but later died at an area hospital.
Oliver and Reese were staying together at the hotel, the Brookhaven police confirmed to PEOPLE, saying, “There are no details about what transpired inside of the hotel room prior to the shooting,” but that it appeared to be a murder-suicide.
Reese’s aunt, Joette Thomas, alsotold 11Alivethat Reese had spent that weekend with the father of her younger son, purportedly Steven Oliver, whom she’d known for 15 years. Thomas also alleged that Reese had been the prior victim of abuse at Oliver’s hands.
On a Go Fund Me page dedicatedto raising money to help pay for her funeral, Reese’s family and friends described her as a “breath of fresh air” who “loved everyone,” writing, “She always wanted the best for everyone around her. Nene always saw the good in everybody and it hurts that she is no longer with us.”
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“Her smile and laughter were contagious,” the page continues. “She wanted to see her boys go to college and make something of themselves.”
Reese’s aunttold 11Alive that the victim’s two sonsstill don’t understand the loss they’ve suffered. “They don’t realize that she’s not coming back,” Joette Thomas said, noting, “And I really think that it’s going to take them getting some counseling because they’re so used to their mom. She did everything for them.”
Reese’s best friend, Natashia Binns, urged other victims of domestic abuse to seek help and try to leave the relationship if possible. “Please ask for help,” she told 11 Alive. “If you can walk away, walk away. Do not stay.”
If you are experiencing domestic violence, call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233, or go tothehotline.org. All calls are toll-free and confidential. The hotline is available 24/7 in more than 170 languages.
source: people.com
