Pregnant Mother Of 3 Killed By Husband In Murder-Suicide
Her friends and family remember her.
gofundme Domestic violence in Hollywood is much more prevalent than we may think. Over the last decade, a number of famous and powerful men have been accused of domestic abuse, including Johnny Depp, Mel Gibson, Sean Penn, and Chris Brown. And while their cases luckily didn’t end in any deaths, there are way too many instances occurring where women die because of abuse.
Who is Vanessa Palma? The pregnant mother of three was murdered by her very own husband, Matthew Padzunas, on September 18. Padzunas then turned the gun on himself. Her family set up a GoFundMe to cover the funeral costs and have Palma’s body sent back to her home state of New Jersey.
Read the GoFundMe:
“My beautiful sister-in-law, Vanessa Palma, and her unborn baby girl, named Maeve’s, life was tragically taken, by her husband, on September 18 in Maricopa, AZ. We are trying to raise funds for the funeral, along with bringing Vanessa back to NJ and traveling expenses for her children to come to New Jersey.
Thank you so much for the generous donations. Please keep Vanessa's beautiful children Faye, Maxx, and Jack, her parents Gladys Delgado & Gustavo Palma, her siblings Jessica Caballero, George Palma, & Jonathan Palma, Ray Panday and all her nieces and nephews Amarile, Ayden, Alexis, Shane, Jordan, Makayla, Abigail, Violet in your prayers during this extremely difficult time.”
Palma was five months pregnant at the time of her death, and the unborn child was named Meave. Unfortunately, the violence escalated over time.
Police revealed that they responded to three domestic violence calls in the past, and Padzunas was arrested back in June, charged with disorderly conduct after throwing water on Palma.
But according to her family members, Palma was terrified of what would happen if she left Padzunas. “She was a great mother and a great provider. She was scared to leave him, but she tried her best to get out of that relationship,” her brother George Palma said.
Added her sister Jessica Caballero, urging victims of domestic violence to seek help, “She’s an angel, they always say the good ones go first. It’s difficult for me and my family, especially those kids. Think of your children, think of your loved ones.” Caballero is currently taking care of Palma’s three children, who range in age from 7 to 12.
“I lost my best friend, and if I could bring her back I would, but I can’t. It’s just so hard, how many times she tried to ask for help, and how she felt like she couldn’t because she was convinced DCS would take her kids... One minute [Padzunas] was fine, and the next minute he turned," said Caballero.
She also noted that Palma’s 12-year-old daughter talked to her the morning of her death, saying, “That day I was going to tell my mommy to please leave me home with her, because I wanted to be with her. I felt something bad was going to happen.”
Our condolences go out to the Palma family. And if you or anyone you know is the victim of domestic violence, reach out to the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233, or visit their website, the Hotline.
Samantha Maffucci is an editor for YourTango who focuses on writing trending news and entertainment pieces. In her free time, you can find her obsessing about cats, wine, and all things Vanderpump Rules.