On Christmas Eve, in the Dumpster of a central Las Vegas apartment complex, a homeless man foraging for cans discovered Tess. She was naked, inside a plastic bag, and there were partial burns on her body and the bag, as if whoever murdered her had tried to erase the evidence of her death. The cause of death was blunt head trauma. The story made national news, and Patricia, determined that people should understand both the disease of addiction and her daughter’s incredible strength, spoke to every reporter who contacted her. The attention made some family members uncomfortable.
