A Mother’s March for Justice

For 26 Years, Penny Dees marched the streets of New Jersey in search of her daughter’s killer

Quiana Dees was murdered when she was 12 years old; image source.

People march for many reasons. To celebrate, to battle, to commemorate, to protest. But for one mother, the reason was intensely personal. For nearly three decades, Penny Dees marched along the same route in Asbury Park, New Jersey, to find justice for her little girl.

Background

Penny’s daughter, twelve-year-old Quiana Dees, was found outside a church at 2:44 a.m. on May 2, 1992, bleeding from a fatal gunshot wound to the head. Beloved by her mom and four brothers, Quiana was a sweet girl who enjoyed writing poetry, watching TV game shows, and baking cookies.

Quiana had come home shortly before 9 p.m. that evening, but she snuck out later that night to attend a party nearby. At 4 a.m. Penny awoke to police officers at her door showing her a gruesome photo of a slain Quiana with blood running down the side of her head. She died the next day.

Since then, every year, on the first Saturday in May, Penny faithfully marched two miles along a route filled with memories of her daughter.

What started as a grieving mother’s pilgrimage soon blossomed into a community effort to keep Quiana’s case alive and find someone who knew something.