Jessica McLaughlin, 24, works at a 7-Eleven store in California. She went to work on what should have been a routine day. Sadly, what transpired inside the store was not routine at all: a violent and heated altercation with a manager that ended with death. Jessica’s family and coworkers were shocked by the event, and it has also led to an ongoing murder investigation by the police.
Jessica’s family has spun terrible stories about what happened before she died. They reported that the argument started as a quarrel at work but quickly turned physical when a female manager allegedly slapped Jessica. Jessica’s brother, Sean McLaughlin, alleged that the manager pulled Jessica’s hair and then sat on her, using all of her body weight to keep Jessica from breathing. Sean said the attack was shocking and bad. He claimed, “She held her down, sat on her, and wouldn’t let her breathe.”
Jessica wasn’t the only one who was hurt by the violence. When coworkers sought to stop the attack, the manager is said to have reacted with anger as well. Jessica was able to get away from them, but by then it was too late. She collapsed on the floor of the store and didn’t move or breathe. In a last-ditch effort to save her, coworkers gave her CPR, but in the midst of the chaos, the manager is said to have run to a back room to try to delete security footage of the occurrence before escaping on a bike.
Jessica was rushed to the hospital after the incident and put on life support. Her family, which comprised her mother Jasmine, father Clancey, brother Anthony, stepfather Albert, sister Linda, and lover Adrian, stayed with her and hoped she would get better during the hard days that followed. Sean said, “We stayed by her side for all of these days, hoping and praying for some kind of miracle.” But the lack of oxygen caused too much harm. Her brain had stopped working.
Jessica’s family was constantly there for her and talked to a lot of physicians, but her injuries were so terrible that there wasn’t much hope of her getting better. After seeking second opinions and exhausting every medical option, the family had to make the difficult choice to take her off life support. Jessica passed away on July 2.
After hearing what transpired, the police promptly took action. When the cops went to the 7-Eleven, they discovered Jessica passed out on the floor. The Los Angeles Police Department noted in an official statement that “initial information suggested that two women got into a verbal argument inside the business that turned into a physical fight.” The LAPD confirmed they had video evidence of the fight, but they haven’t released it to the public yet. Police have been looking into Jessica’s death as a murder since then, but no one has been arrested yet.
7-Eleven claimed it will fully work with the police after the disaster. The company’s response shows that they know how serious the situation is and how bad it is for the family, the workplace, and the community.
Jessica’s death is a horrible reminder of how quickly things can go wrong at work and how bad they can be. While the inquiry is still going on, her family and friends are still yearning for justice and answers. They want to make sure that this kind of thing never happens again. The community is grieved at the death of a young woman whose life was cut short in a way that should never have happened at work.
