Contribute to Irene Torres’ Memorial Expenses

My name is Reyna Douglas and Irene Torres was my little sister. Irene lived in Old Hickory, TN with our parents and this is unfortunately where her life was abruptly and violently stolen from her. In the early hours of January 29, 2023, Irene's ex-boyfriend, Dwayne, was hiding and waiting for her to get home from work. When Irene arrived home, her ex-boyfriend snuck up from behind and ambushed her. She was dragged and stabbed repeatedly in front of our parent's home. Dwayne then took Irene's lifeless body, put her in his trunk, and transported her back to his apartment, where he wrapped her in a comforter and placed her in a plastic bin in his closet. When our parents awoke hours later and realized she never came inside the house, they checked their security cameras and saw Dwayne walking away from their property out of the camera's frame. Our dad left to search for Irene and our mom's missing vehicle, while our mom ran to the neighbor's homes to see what their cameras showed. Their neighbor's camera captured the assault. Our mom called 911 and kept them updated with every finding. After no trace of Irene, our dad's last resort was to try to find her at Dwayne's apartment in Bellevue. Dwayne said that Irene was at a hotel downtown and agreed to show him where. Along the way, Dwayne ended up confessing to taking her life. Irene was only 24.

Irene had suffered months of physical and emotional abuse during her relationship with Dwayne. On December 29, 2022, she made the brave decision to escape while Dwayne was working and she returned to our parents' home in the middle of the night terrified and exhausted. For those that were fortunate to know Irene, despite being terrorized, abused, and living in fear, she always had a smile on her face and a compliment to give. Her generosity will always be remembered.

Irene's death is a senseless tragedy. While most 24-year-olds are planning their careers, and futures, and are optimistic about the world, Irene spent some of the last months of her young life abused, degraded, terrorized, and fearful. Irene showed immense bravery in leaving her abusive relationship and was so happy to start her new life with the support of family and friends, only to be hunted down in her front yard and brutally murdered one month later.

Irene was a victim of horrific domestic violence and our family has suffered an unimaginable loss. We are so grateful her cremation costs are to be covered by local funding. So this Go Fund Me will go towards holding a memorial service for Irene's family and friends. The goal amount is set to $1 because there is no amount we are expecting from anyone. We just wanted a place for Irene's loved ones to donate if their heart moves them to do so. All leftover funds that were not used towards Irene's memorial service will be donated to a local domestic violence shelter. From my family to you: thank you so much for your consideration of Irene's beautiful life and your contribution to helping us remember the best of her until we can see her again.