Article: Vigil honors teen killed by boyfriend

By ERIKA I. RITCHIE
THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
LAKE FOREST – A candlelight vigil held in the memory of an El Toro High graduate killed by her boyfriend almost three years ago drew hundreds to El Toro High on Friday night.

The event sponsored by Ladera Ranch-based Laura's House, a charity focused on stopping domestic violence, honored Jacque Villagomez, a 19-year-old aspiring model who met John Needham, a 25-year-old Iraq War veteran who suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder. Villagomez, in accounts on a memorial Facebook page, said she thought she could save him.

On Sept. 2, 2008 police reported that Needham beat Villagomez to death in his father's condominium. Needham later died of unknown causes while awaiting trial. In Villagomez's memory, her friends donated money to Laura's House and have been involved with the organization ever since.

The event also recognized Teen Dating Violence Awareness Month and promoted Laura's House's HEART -- Healthy Emotions and Attitudes in Relationships for Teens.

The vigil was held at the school's Upper Quad. Teens and adults gathered among flowers and purple balloons. In addition to Villagomez, several other teens, who as victims of teen dating violence made national headlines, were also remembered. They included Demi Cuccia, 16, of Pennsylvania, stabbed to death by her boyfriend in her home while her mom was at a PTA meeting; Jessica Tush, 19, of New York, killed by her ex-boyfriend and dumped in a shallow grave, and Courtney Delano, 16, who was pregnant and beaten to death by her boyfriend.

Speakers included Marissa Presley, a prevention education specialist for Laura's House, and Vanessa Show, a cadet with the Orange County Sheriff's Department. Show told those gathered how she had attended a HEART event organized by Presley and how it opened her eyes to the abusive relationship she was in.

"She was one of the most awesome people, she made you laugh, she made you cry, she treated everyone the same, she inspired us with an attitude that we could to anything we wanted to do and Jacque never let anyone tell her that she couldn't do anything," said Angelica Roman, Villagomez's best friend.

Reina Rojas, 16, from Capistrano Beach, came to the vigil because of the work that Presley and Laura's House has done.

"Marissa is so inspiring in her work," Rojas said. "She gives out information and people end up passing it along to people who they think can use it."