Mothers of Murdered Offspring (MoMO) is a victims' rights organization in Charlotte, N.C. It was founded in March 1993 by Dee Sumpter and Judy Williams after the death of their daughter and god-daughter, Shawna Denise Hawk, on February 19, 1993. Mothers of Murdered Offspring was conceived in 1993 as a support group for survivors, at a time when Mecklenburg County had the highest record year for homicides: a total of 129. They were instrumental[ citation needed ] in bringing, their daughter's rapist and murderer serial killer Henry Louis Wallace, to justice and of his eventual conviction for his other crimes, as well as consoling the 11 murdered victims' families in addition to the families of murder victims since its inception.
The organization's first support meeting was held on March 29, 1993. Some of the organization's goals are to reach out to other mothers and families who have lost a child to the violent act of murder and to offer support during their time of sorrow and grief. The organization also provide purple ribbons, symbol of nonviolence to grieving families as well as balloon lifts.
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Sharon Marie Tate Polanski was an American actress and model. During the 1960s, she played small television roles before appearing in films and was regularly featured in fashion magazines as a model and cover girl. After receiving positive reviews for her comedic and dramatic acting performances, Tate was hailed as one of Hollywood's most promising newcomers.
John Wayne Gacy was an American serial killer and sex offender known as the Killer Clown who assaulted and murdered at least 33 young men and boys. Gacy regularly performed at children's hospitals and charitable events as "Pogo the Clown" or "Patches the Clown", personas he had devised. He was also active in his local community as a Democratic Party precinct captain, and building contractor.
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Jeremy Robert Myron Sumpter is an American actor. His prominent roles include the title role in the 2003 live action film Peter Pan, Jacob in the 2014 disaster film Into the Storm, and the recurring role of J. D. McCoy in the NBC television series Friday Night Lights (2008–2010).
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Emily "Cissy" Houston is an American soul and gospel singer. After a successful career singing backup for such artists as Roy Hamilton, Dionne Warwick, Elvis Presley, and Aretha Franklin, Houston embarked on a solo career, winning two Grammy Awards for her work. Houston is the mother of singer Whitney Houston, grandmother of Bobbi Kristina Brown, aunt of singers Dionne Warwick and Dee Dee Warwick, and cousin of opera singer Leontyne Price.
Ros na Rún is an Irish soap opera produced for the Irish-language television channel TG4. The series is set in a fictional village called Ros Na Rún, located near to An Spidéal, and focuses on the domestic and professional lives of its residents.
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Ronald Joseph DeFeo Jr. was an American mass murderer who was tried and convicted for the 1974 killings of his father, mother, two brothers, and two sisters in Amityville, Long Island, New York. Condemned to six sentences of 25 years to life, DeFeo died in custody in 2021. The case inspired the book and film versions of The Amityville Horror.
Doris Gwendolyn Tate was an American activist for the rights of crime victims, who was best known as the mother of actress Sharon Tate. After Sharon Tate and several others were murdered by members of the Manson Family in 1969, Doris Tate began working to raise public awareness about the U.S. corrections system. She was influential in a court decision that amended California criminal laws relating to the rights of victims of violent crime.
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Donald Henry "Pee Wee" Gaskins Jr. was an American serial killer and convicted rapist from South Carolina. He stabbed, shot, drowned and poisoned more than a dozen people. Before his convictions for murder, Pee Wee Gaskins had a long history of criminal activities resulting in prison sentences for assault, burglary, and statutory rape. His last arrest was for contributing to the delinquency of a minor, 13-year old Kim Ghelkins, who had gone missing in September 1975. During their search for the missing girl, police discovered eight bodies buried in shallow graves near his home in Prospect, South Carolina. In May 1976, a Florence County, South Carolina jury took only 47 minutes before finding Gaskins guilty for the murder of one of the eight victims, Dennis Bellamy, and sentenced him to death by the electric chair. That death sentence was overturned by the South Carolina Supreme Court in February 1978, and rather than face a new trial, he pled guilty to the murders of Dennis Bellamy and eight other friends and associates. He was given nine concurrent life sentences, to be served at Central Correctional Institution (CCI) prison in Columbia, SC. While at CCI, Gaskins brutally murdered Rudolph Tyner, a fellow inmate on death row, using C4 explosive. After his conviction for killing Tyner, he received a sentence of death by electrocution, which was administered on September 1991. Just before his execution, he would claim to have killed 110 people but these claims could never be validated. With few exceptions, these claims have been discredited by law enforcement and members of the media who covered the story and who allege this was his attempt to gain notoriety. In his sworn testimony as part of a plea agreement to avoid trial for the murder of John Henry Knight, Pee Wee Gaskins was confirmed to have killed thirteen people in a killing spree from 1970 and 1975. Of the fifteen people total that he murdered during his lifetime, ten were under 25 years old and six were teenagers.
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