Final Expenses for Jessica Vilaythong
Background
I am the brother-in-law of Jessica Vilaythong. On September 1st, 2021, Jessica was tragically stabbed in the neck while working at a Chase branch blocks from the Magnificent Mile in Chicago. Paramedics and police were quick to arrive, but the severity of the attack and the amount of blood loss immediately rendered her unconscious.
She was resuscitated in the ambulance and rushed to the hospital. After that, she endured hours of surgery and was attended to by the most compassionate care, but ultimately succumbed to brain death the next day. Jessica was 24 years old.
In Detail
Jessica is part of a large Vietnamese family, of which she is the youngest and was loved by everyone. Last time I talked to her at a family dinner in May, she talked with enthusiasm about her future. I relish those conversations I had with her, and I saw her maturing into her own person each passing year.
Recently, she moved into a new apartment with her long time partner and their two pets. I still remember them showing up as two high school kids to our wedding reception. She had just graduated in 2020 with her college degree from the University of Illinois. She was proud to call Chicago home.
Our Ask
- How could this happen while at work and in broad daylight?
- How could something so unjust happen? Why was a multiple violent offender let out to walk the streets?
- How do you reconcile seeing someone off in the morning and realizing they are gone forever by the next day?
- Why did it have to happen to someone who was so young and had a full life ahead of her?
These questions and many more are ones that we will have to look within to find answers for. It will take a lifetime.
Right now, I am asking for help on the immediate expenses, of which there are many (ambulance, hospital, funeral, etc.). If there is any money left over, it will go towards grief counseling and support for her surviving family and her loving partner.
We appreciate all the donations and support in such a difficult time.