JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Mother’s Day is an especially difficult holiday for one First Coast family, who lost a daughter four years ago, one day before Mother's Day.
Joleen Cummings' body was never found, though her co-worker was convicted of her murder more than 3 years later.
“When I first found out that you were a girl, I was so happy, just so very protective," Ann Johnson, Cummings' mother, said.
A baby book is one of the last memories Ann Johnson has of her daughter.
"I never gave Joleen the book cause I wasn’t finished writing it," Johnson said.
Joleen Cummings was murdered May 12th 2018, one day before her birthday which fell on Mother's Day. The mother of three was just 34 years old.
“Mother's Day is the most difficult because that was the day that God gave me Joleen," Johnson said. "Joleen never missed a Mother's Day with me. This would have been the first that it would have been on her birthday and Mother's Day, and she would have celebrated with her 3 children. She had already made plans.”
Cummings worked as a hairdresser at a salon in Yulee. Her co-worker, Kimberly Kessler was convicted of her murder last December. Cummings body was never found, and the trial lasted nearly 3 years.
“Yes, I was frustrated but what I didn’t know is that the judge was doing everything that he could and now that I look back on it, I understand," Johnson said.
As the fourth-year anniversary of her death approaches, the family says they have found comfort in their faith.
“I look at one of the boys and say oh you have your mother’s big eyes. The little one, you have her smile, you have her disposition. And the daughter she’s intelligent and she’s her identical twin, she would be so proud of her daughter," said Johnson.
Johnson also runs a Facebook group that provides prayers and healing to Other families that have lost loved ones.