Just days after achieving her degree, 30-year-old nursing student Shantel Gillespie was found dead in her Boston apartment. This children's hospital nurse was a mother to three children, and was a victim of domestic violence, according to her sister.
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On the evening of December 12, officers responded to a wellness check for 390 Harrison Ave. After discovering her body, the Boston Police Department regarded the nursing student dead from a possible homicide. This was just two days after completing her nursing degree from Labouré College of Healthcare in Milton, Massachusetts.
Now, her sister Shanakay Gillespie has set up a GoFundMe to support the funeral service scheduled for December 31. Shanakay wrote a beautiful description for the fundraiser, expressing the love she has for her late sister.
Tragic Death of Mother Of 3 And Nursing Student
"Shantel was a beautiful soul and was loved by all," the sister wrote. "My sister had 1 goal in life: to make a better life for herself so her children would grow up wanting of nothing. From long work hours, to classes and clinical, to coming home to nurture 3 children."
Shanakay also dove into her sister's past. Shantel grew up in Mandeville, Jamaica, and immigrated to the U.S. a decade ago. She then spent five years as a Clinical Assistant at Boston Children's Hospital. Shantel "cared for patients and families and came home to do the very same for her own.
The fundraiser was where Shanakay expressed her claims of Shantel's death being related to domestic violence. "Over all the years she worked tirelessly to have a successful future while battling to break the cycle of domestic violence."
Shanakay continued to detail how her sister never got her degree and never got to walk on that stage. Most importantly, "she never got to tell her children goodbye," the sister wrote.
The investigations are still ongoing, but police do believe it to be a homicide. "While we are still awaiting a cause and manner of death determination from the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner, we have reason to believe that Ms. Gillespie's death is a homicide," the cops wrote in a statement.
"Preliminary information indicates that this was not a random act and that residents of the building and members of the public are not in danger. Investigators continue to gather information and we will release further updates when we can."
The family has raised over $44,000 and is 90% completed from its $50,000 goal through the GoFundMe.
