An Oregon mother of three found dead outside an abandoned barn earlier this month would have turned 33 Friday.
JoAnna Speaks went missing in March, and her body was discovered April 8 in Ridgefield, Washington, about 20 miles north of Portland, according to the Clark County Sheriff’s Office.
“Today Jo would’ve been celebrating her 33rd birthday,” Ariel Hamby wrote on a GoFundMe page for Speaks. “But we don’t get to do that today. Instead of feeling joyful and sending good wishes – that gets replaced with the feeling of loss, pain, confusion and even anger.”
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Oregon mother of three JoAnna Speaks was found bludgeoned to death near an abandoned barn April 8, 2023. (Facebook)
A medical examiner said she died of blunt force trauma to the head and neck.
“There are indications the body was moved to this location,” the sheriff’s office said in a news release.
Speaks leaves behind a 7-year-old daughter she shares with her estranged husband and two boys from a prior relationship.
“I broke the news to her two boys,” Hamby wrote. “It was one of the most difficult and heart-wrenching things we’ve ever had to do.”
JoAnna Speaks, left, and a photo of her with her three children and her estranged husband. Investigators say she was murdered and her body dumped near an abandoned barn. (Facebook)
Her relatives said they are frustrated by a lack of information from law enforcement.
“We still have no answers. Detectives have not told us anything new since the day they called with the most vague information,” Hamby said on social media. “None of this feels right or OK.”
Hamby told local outlet KGW-TV she was haunted by the brutality of the killing.
“It keeps me up at night thinking that whoever did this to her, blunt force trauma to the head and neck, I mean that is violent, and that person is walking around,” she said.
The family of Oregon mother of three JoAnna Speaks, who was bludgeoned to death, is holding a Celebration of Life for her Sunday. (Facebook)
Authorities have not identified a suspect or a motive in the killing. Her family has organized a celebration of life for Speaks at the Abernethy Grange in Oregon City Sunday.
“Happy Birthday Jogee. We love you and miss you so much. We won’t stop fighting for you,” Hamby wrote online.
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Anyone with information on the case is asked to contact CCSO at 564-397-2847.
