Mom’s last words as she dies in daughter’s arms after 24-hour beating by dad
“He was in his [military uniform] and I just remember her being so happy,” Aleisha told People of her mother that day.
“It was so weird because she told me this specifically by myself, she said: ‘Even if, for whatever reason, even though me and your dad love each other very much, if we don’t stay married or something happens, I will always love you guys and always choose you guys first.’” Aleisha remembered.
That simple promise – one of a mother’s unconditional love – would take on new meaning seven years later.
‘More angry, irritable’ after deployment
Over the years, happiness had given way to violence and fear. Joshua – who had returned home from deployment in Afghanistan in 2016 – had changed.
“He was definitely more aggressive, he was definitely more irritable, angry. And after that is when the abuse started getting bad, because I mean, it was never abuse before then,” Aleisha told People. “It would always be verbal arguments up until about 2016, when the abuse started with my mom.”
Although Aleisha says her father never physically abused her or her siblings, life inside their home was far from safe or normal.
“It was literally walking on eggshells. A constant hostile environment,” she told People, describing a household ruled by fear and control.
