Whittier Daily News: "Mother of slain Alhambra teen supports and educates victims' families Read more: Mother of slain Alhambra teen supports and educates victims' families"

By Brenda Gazzar, Staff Writer

Justice for Murdered Children founder Lawanda Hawkins, left, hugs Jeanette Chavez, mother of murder victim Sammatha Salas, in this Jan. 12 photo. (Rachel Luna / Staff) Read more: Mother of slain Alhambra teen supports and educates victims' families - Whittier Daily News http://www.whittierdailynews.com/news/ci_18407942#ixzz1RGHMGV4q

OUTH PASADENA - Jeanette Chavez knows what it's like to be a victim of a heinous crime and then to hear insulting comments from relatives of her daughter's killers in the courtroom.

The 42-year old mother also knows how critical it is to keep the case of a slain loved one alive in the public domain until the perpetrators are charged, convicted and locked away.

More than three years after bubbly 16-year-old Sammantha Salas of Alhambra was gunned down by gang members while walking to a market in unincorporated Monrovia, Chavez is helping victims and their families navigate the painful and often difficult path to justice.

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