Социальный работник из Миссисипи убит бойфрендом, который затем попытался самоубийство

Faun Reese always put other people before herself, family members say. So they weren’t surprised when she went into social work, receiving her master's degree from LSU in 1997. “She was a caring person,” said Reese’s younger sister Heidi Candler. Now her family is left grieving her death: Reese, 54, was allegedly killed by her boyfriend Garry Miles, 66, who police say fatally stabbed her in the neck and then attempted suicide by taking sleeping pills. Officers found the two side by side on the bed in their apartment on Aug. 25. Candler wants people to know that Reese is more than just a victim — she was a sister, a helper and a person who went above and beyond for the people she cared about. She said Reese’s path into social work seemed a natural extension of her talents. Reese’s cousin, Anaya Chiles, who was like a sister to her, said Reese was always there for her when they were growing up. Reese lived with Chiles in South Carolina for a time during elementary school, during which they solidified their bond. “I'm an only child, and she was like the sister that I didn't have. And she would talk. We would talk, and she would confide in me, and we would try to build each other up. So we were really close,” Chiles said. Reese drove all the way to Mississippi to help her older brother, Ronnie Reese Jr., when he had a simple medical procedure done earlier this year. “She would always give everything to help somebody. She had compassion and empathy for them to make sure and believe in them that they could pull through,” he said. However, because she was a private person, Reese didn’t tell family members much about her relationship with Miles, they said. “I’m just saying, just love on your people while you can. I guess, in a nutshell,” Reese Jr. said. As her big brother, Reese Jr. said he was protective of his little sister and would have fought to keep her safe. “Anything that she asked me to do, I would do my best to try to take care of it. You know, just stuff that big brothers do,” he said. Reese said he was devastated when he got the call about his sister's death. The first word out of his mouth was “Jesus.” “Had it not been for my, you know, having God in my life, or you know, trying to follow Christ, you know, it probably would have been different. It was devastating,” he said. “It’s like with the Lord, it’s not our will but his will, and I’m willing to accept it. It hurt, and it’s still hurting.” Candler said Reese was planning to move to an apartment complex in Denham Springs once she turned 55 on Oct. 30. It was going to be a fresh start. Funeral services for Reese will be held Sept. 12 in Mississippi. Candler and Reese Jr. both said they were raised by compassionate, caring parents who taught them how to forgive others. Candler said forgiveness is just as important as knowing when to set up boundaries. “You have to start putting boundaries up, and you can still have that compassion. But if it's hurting you, you have to let go and find those ones that can help you get that strength to make that break,” Candler said.