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After Daughter's Murder, Grandma Left to Care for 2 Children. Donations Pour In

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Mother-of-two Bobbi Wheeler wanted nothing more in life than to live in the countryside, her children and the 30+ animals she cared for by her side.

And for a time, she did. She lived in a home her longtime partner Virgil Hyde owned, and her mother Dezra and her brother Billy moved their mobile home onto Hyde’s property to be close to them.

But in June 2016, an argument between Bobbi and Hyde would end everything. Hyde believed Bobbi was taking money from his bank account, and in a fit of rage, he shot her in the head while she was doing laundry.



Dezra rushed into their home to find Bobbi on the laundry room floor and Hyde fully admitting what he’d done without regret.

At the time, their kids Harmony and Kaden were out racing four-wheelers on the property with their Uncle Billy.

In that instant, their lives would change forever.

After their mother’s death and their father going to jail, Harmony and Kaden struggled in school. Under the care of Dezra and Billy, the kids moved into their mobile home with them.

And then, just as the family was trying to get back to a normal schedule, bad news came again.

Hyde’s neighbor was suing him for having a mobile home on his property and demanded it be moved. While Hyde somehow obtained a permit to have it, the deed to his home forbid it in the first place.

A judge ordered the 2,000 sq ft. home to be moved by March 30, but Dezra was entirely unaware of the lawsuit until just six weeks before the deadline.

With nowhere to go, Dezra asked Hyde if they could live in the house he owned, but he refused them.

Already struggling financially, they had no way to pay for the costs to move the mobile home and set it up elsewhere. The family was about to be homeless.

But after their heartbreaking story began to make it’s way into the news, donations began to pour in. In just two weeks, kind readers donated $41,319 to the family.

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Now, they’ll be able to move their mobile home, install a septic tank, electric service and a water well.

“Oh, God. Thank you so much. Thank you, thank you,” Dezra said, crying as she looked at a box full of donations and checks. “I don’t know what to do. Oh, my Lord.”



Many others are donating time and resources to help the family move and get back on their feet.

Now she, Billy, and the children are getting ready to move. By the end of March, Billy will also be adopting Harmony and Kaden.

“They’re the number one thing in my life,” Billy said. “They’ve always been my best friends. Now I want to make them mine. They love me as much as I love them. They help me cope as much as I help them cope. I’d just be lost without them.”

“Bobbi was my rock, and I hope to be the children’s rock,” Dezra said. “I want them to have a happy life. I don’t want them to suffer.”

Our thoughts and prayers are with the family during this challenging time. Submit your story here, and subscribe to our best uplifting stories here.

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Liz was a senior story editor for The Western Journal.
Liz was a senior story editor for The Western Journal.
Location
Arizona
Languages Spoken
English, Spanish
Topics of Expertise
Health, Entertainment, Faith




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