Jessica Mae Orozco, 31, a Navajo botanist and Range Specialist for the Hualapai Tribe’s Natural Resources Department, was shot and killed on the night of October 27, 2018, in Golden Valley, Arizona. She had been celebrating her adopted nephew’s birthday and was taking one of his friends home. At the friend’s residence on Concho Drive she knocked on the closed front door; after an initial unanswered knock she knocked more firmly and was struck by a single gunshot through the door.

Jessica was taken to Kingman Regional Medical Center, where she died of her injuries. She was remembered as a devoted single mother to her adopted nephew and as a respected scientist with a Master’s degree in Botany, known for her passion for plants and for her warm personality. The Mohave County Sheriff’s Office investigated and arrested 57-year-old Gerald Richardson of Golden Valley, who was charged with second-degree murder; Richardson told investigators he had been asleep, heard what he believed was an intruder and fired in response.

Who knew Jessica or was in Golden Valley that night and can share what they remember?