The people that knew a young Lakeside woman found dead in a suitcase say the circumstances of her death should not dictate how she is remembered.
Brooke Macbeth’s body was found after deputies served an eviction notice at her mother’s Lakeside apartment on March 3. The mother told deputies there was a body in her home and when deputies went inside, they found her body.
Investigators said Brooke could have died up to six months to a year prior to the discovery of her body.
Macbeth's intellectual and physical disabilities, which left her a paraplegic, prevented her from forming words, but she engaged the world through a variety of expressions.
But at a vigil Friday evening, those that knew Brooke came together to share their memories of her, even though many had not seen her in years.
Former teachers said Brooke had a strong voice, a beautiful long ponytail and an infectious smile. At the vigil, they wanted to change the conversation about Brooke and her death.
When one former teacher found out about Brooke's death, she said she was devastated.
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"I think I went to the bathroom and dropped to the ground," said Erica Russel, a former one-on-one teacher aide for Brooke. "Heartbroken."
Russel said she has known the family for a long time. At the school’s special education program, it was typical for a teacher to work with a student for several years.
She said she is just as heartbroken for the mother, Bonnie.
“I would like to tell Bonnie that we don't know the circumstances she went through and I just hope Brooke passed with natural causes and Bonnie just didn't know what to do,” Russel said. “I’m hoping and I feel. . .I don’t feel Bonnie would have ever hurt her child.”
Sheriff’s investigators said they are still waiting for the results of Brooke’s autopsy. Her mother is being treated at a local hospital.
