Experiencing the loss of your own child can be debilitating.
People’s grief reactions after the death of their child can be especially difficult, and some do not know how best to cope.
Such is the case of Jeanie Ditty, a ‘grieving’ mother from North Carolina who lost her daughter in a tragic accident.
Ditty struggled with intense loneliness and isolation for some time before reaching out to a photographer, Sunny Jo, who specializes in photoshopped portraits with decreased family members.
Her hope was to create special photos to cover her pain, and Jo was incredibly gracious enough to offer his services pro-bono.
Little did he know that he was working for the alleged murder of the young girl who had passed.
According to Ditty, her two-year-old daughter Macy died after choking on her own vomit while sick from a stomach virus, which led to brain damage and Macy’s untimely death.
ArmyTimes reported that Ditty had taken her daughter to the emergency room on December 4, 2015.
However, medical reports noted “bruises all over her body” and “life-threatening injuries consistent with child abuse,” after Macy died a few days later.
Officers were called to the hospital Macy was transported to in response to a “an unconscious youngster with indicators of probable child abuse.”
It was determined that the injuries had been inflicted within a 24-hour period.
Apparently, Ditty was actually attempting to cover up the murder by paying homage to her dead daughter through the photography work.
Ditty then posted the photos to Facebook, adding that “Sunny Jo did some amazing work for me of my angel and I.”
“I felt so bad for the grieving mother that I decided to do $500 worth of work for free because of the situation. She sounded convincing,” photographer Sunny Jo said.
“I regret that I’m attached to a situation that is so evil, and so vile. Knowing that she used me and she used this to possibly make herself seem innocent, that’s the worst feeling in the world,” he added.
“The only good part about this is that baby has a voice now,” he said. “We gave Macy Grace a voice.”
23-year-old Ditty was arrested and charged with murdering her daughter and her boyfriend 32-year-old Zachary Keefer was also arrested.
Cumberland County District Attorney Billy West described Macy’s killing as “horrific” and vowed to pursue those involved.
Sources: Awm, Fayobserver, Armytimes
