On a winter day in Albuquerque, New Mexico, the life of 28-year-old Chelsea Parkett, a woman of the Navajo Nation, was tragically cut short. On January 5, 2018, Parkett was shot and killed in an act of violence that stunned those who knew her. A graduate of Thoreau High School, she had earned a degree in medical billing and coding and was the mother of two sons, Gabriel and Draven Ramone.
She was born in Fort Defiance, Arizona, and belonged to the Kiyaa'áanii and Tábaahá of the Navajo Nation.
The circumstances of her death were violent and sudden. According to witnesses, her ex-boyfriend, Jerrold Ramone, who was also 28, opened fire on her from his vehicle. He then reportedly exited his car and continued to shoot at her until she collapsed. This brutal event marked the end of a life that was centered around her children, who were described as her most significant accomplishments.
In the aftermath of the shooting, law enforcement took swift action. Jerrold Ramone was arrested and taken into custody. He was subsequently booked into the Metropolitan Detention Center, where he was charged with the murder of Chelsea Parkett. The charges brought a sense of legal closure to a devastating and senseless act of violence, though the emotional wounds for her family and community would endure. Funeral services were held on January 12, 2018, at a mortuary in Gallup, New Mexico, and she was laid to rest in the Smith Lake community cemetery.
