A GoFundMe has been set up for the family of 54-year-old Melody Waldecker of Silver Spring, who was struck and killed during a carjacking in Sterling, Va. last weekend.
The fundraiser’s goal is to reach $15,000 and it has already raised over $2,300 since it was launched earlier this week.
Melody Waldecker lost her life to a senseless act of violence on July 28th, 2024. Melody was a mother of 4 and a grandmother to 8. She spent over a decade dedicating herself to health care.
Losing a mother/grandmother is one of the hardest things to go through, I am asking the community to help come together and support the family in giving Melody the funeral she deserves. No one can prepare for a tragedy like this, all proceeds will go to her husband and four children. Let’s try and take some financial stress away from her loved ones. Thank you.
According to NBC Washington, Waldecker had just walked into a 7-Eleven at the Town Center at Sterling shopping center last Sunday when she noticed a man getting into her Kia Sorento and tried to stop him. 21-year-old Jose Aguilar-Martinez, an undocumented immigrant of no fixed address and most recently residing in Sterling, took off in the Sorento and hit Waldecker with her car, and was later taken into custody following an extensive search.
Waldecker was pronounced dead at the scene.
Aguilar-Martinez has been charged with carjacking, a felony, and is being held at the Loudoun County Adult Detention Center with no bond. Additional charges are expected, according to the Loudoun County Sheriff’s Office.
“This is a horrific tragedy, and we mourn the death of Melody Waldecker as the result of the heinous actions by a suspect in our nation illegally,” said Sheriff Mike Chapman. “This is another reminder of why it is essential that localities collaborate with our federal counterparts charged with enforcing U.S. immigration laws.”
Photo Courtesy of GoFundMe