Makayla was born on January 7, 2006. At the time of her passing Makayla was a sophomore at Ocean Lakes High School. While in high school she was active in cheerleading, gymnastics and volleyball.

Makayla’s personality was friendly, honest, trustworthy and caring but she could also be outspoken, argumentive, and stubborn 😂 but when she walked into a room her personality illuminated the room.

When she was younger, she wanted to be an Olympic Gold Medalist. As she got older she considered being a doctor, because she loved Grey’s Anatomy, but quickly decided against that when she learned it would require a lot of math classes. She finally decided on being a lawyer and wanted to attend UVA.

The summer of 2021, Makayla started her first job as a life guard, where she met a “friend who, in December of 2021, I learned introduced her to illicit pills.

I desperately tried to get help and intervene, seeking programs she could attend, contacting the “friends” parents, stopping contact with the “friend”, among many other things. However, I was met with obstacles at every turn.

The evening of January 21, 2022, Makayla and I ate dinner and watched a movie. Call it, mother’s intuition, I just had an uneasy feeling that night. So I decided I was going to drug test her the next morning, as all the stores were closed for the night. When I walked into her room the morning of January 22nd to wake her up, she was sitting up in her bed unresponsive. CPR was given to her immediately, but it was too late.

What Makayla thought she got and took was Percocet. The only drug that she tested positive for on her toxicology report was fentanyl. Had Makayla taken what she believed and was told she received, she would be here today.

It has been a little over two years since that horrible, life altering day, and no arrests have been made in the investigation. Who she got the pill from is known.  Many people can testify that this person told them he gave her the pill. However, since he is not a “big dealer” and there is no video evidence of it being given to Makayla, prosecutors say they cannot move forward at this time with charges.  The investigation remains open, to my knowledge, but I no longer get updates or responses from detectives when I inquire on the status of the case.