Behind the political spin is the quiet devastation of a family and neighborhood. Renee was a poet, a musician, a mother of three who welcomed friends with tea and cookies, a woman her own mother described as “loving, forgiving and affectionate.” Now a six-year-old faces life without her, and relatives are scrambling to keep him from slipping through the cracks. On icy sidewalks and crowded vigils, one demand echoes above the rest: her life must not end as just another contested headline.
