Jessica McLaughlin, 24, worked at a 7-Eleven store in California. She went to work on what should have been a routine day. Unfortunately, what transpired inside the store was anything but normal: a manager and an employee got into a violent and intense fight that ended in death. Jessica’s family and coworkers were shocked by the event, and the police are still looking into it as a murder.
Jessica’s family has spun terrible stories about what happened before she died. They reported that the altercation started as a quarrel at work, but it quickly turned physical when a female boss allegedly slapped Jessica. Jessica’s brother, Sean McLaughlin, alleged that the manager pulled Jessica’s hair and then sat on her, using all of her body weight to keep Jessica from breathing and block her from moving. Sean said that the attack was awful and disturbing. He stated, “She held her down, sat on top of her, and wouldn’t let her breathe.”
Jessica wasn’t the only one who was hurt by the violence. The manager is said to have also been hostile when coworkers tried to stop the attack. Jessica was able to get away from them, but it was too late by then. She slumped on the floor of the store and couldn’t move or breathe. In a last-ditch effort to save her, her coworkers gave her CPR, but in the midst of the chaos, the manager is said to have run to a back room to try to delete security footage of the incident before escaping on a bike.
Jessica was rushed to the hospital soon after the incident and put on life support. Her family, which comprised her mother Jasmine, father Clancey, brother Anthony, stepfather Albert, sister Linda, and lover Adrian, stayed by her side and hoped she would get better during the arduous days that followed. Sean said, “We stayed by her side for all of these days, hoping and praying for a miracle.” But the lack of oxygen caused too much damage. Her brain had stopped working.
Jessica’s family was constantly there for her and talked to a lot of physicians, but her injuries were so terrible that there was little chance of her getting better. After seeking second opinions and exhausting every medical option, the family had to make the sad decision to take her off life support. On July 2, Jessica died.
After hearing what transpired, the police acted promptly. When the police arrived at the 7-Eleven, they found Jessica lying on the floor, unconscious. In an official statement, the Los Angeles Police Department noted, “Initial information suggested that two women got into a verbal argument inside the business that turned into a physical fight.” The LAPD confirmed they had video of the brawl, but they haven’t shown it to the public yet. Police have started investigating into Jessica’s death as a murder, but no one has been arrested yet.
7-Eleven claimed it will fully cooperate with the police after the disaster. The company’s response shows that they know how serious the problem is and how it will affect the family, the workplace, and the community.
Jessica’s death is a heartbreaking reminder of how quickly things can go wrong at work and how bad they can be. While the inquiry is still going on, her family and friends are still yearning for answers and justice. They want to make sure that this kind of thing doesn’t happen again. The community is grieved that a young woman died in a situation that should never have happened at work.