After their daughter, Jessica Ghawi, was among the 12 people fatally shot at an Aurora movie theater in 2012, Sandy and Lonnie Phillips have been traveling the country in a trailer, going state to state to empower, comfort and lean on survivors of violence.
As the couple cross state lines, they’d often wonder: “Is he here?”
They couldn’t help but wonder where James Holmes, the man convicted of murdering their daughter and 11 others, was living out his existence behind bars.
“We are thrilled to know where he is,” Sandy Phillips said Thursday, a day after the federal that the gunman is in USP Allenwood, a high-security federal prison in Pennsylvania. of the Aurora theater shooting and their families to learn where he was being held.
“Not knowing where he’s been, survivors have been re-victimized over and over again,” Phillips said. “We now know where he is. To have that one little thing removed from over our heads, not to have to think about it, or worry about it, itap a wonderful feeling.”
Jessica Ghawi grew up a hockey fan in football-crazed Texas. She had worked as a waitress in the Denver area and was pursuing her dream of .
Now the Phillips travel the country, remembering “Jessi,” sharing her dreams, talking with people about the dangers of violence and taking measures to help prevent multiple shootings.
“Is it the life we would have chosen? No. But it is the life we are making and we are happy with that,” Phillips said.
To learn more about the Phillips mission go to the or .
