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Parents of Murdered Children: A new haven for grieving parents

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Published  February 2, 2024 11:24pm EST
Cobb County
FOX 5 Atlanta

What is the Parents of Murdered Children group?

Among the many horrors for parents who have lost a child to murder, there's this: few others understand what they're going through. But now there's help. There's a new grief support group to help parents of homicide victims.

MARIETTA, Ga. - A Cobb County woman has used her own tragic heartache to start a support group for other parents.

Parents of Murdered Children is a national organization, with chapters all over the country. Now, for the first time, there is a chapter in Georgia.

Jesse Aguilar’s brutal murder

Nancy and Frank Aguilar's son, Jesse, was 24 years old when he was murdered.

"He was tortured and burned alive in his car," said Nancy Aguilar.

The Aguilars felt alone, as if no one understood how they felt until they joined a Parents of Murdered Children support group.

"Attending the P.O.M.C. meetings, I felt like these people knew how I felt," said Aguilar.

They were living in California at the time. When they moved to Georgia, Aguilar couldn't find anything similar, so she decided to start a chapter here with the support of the Cobb County District Attorney's office.

"I think it's critical, one of the things I learned in the military having lost soldiers, is the ability to talk to someone who has something in common with you, to share, in this case, grief and loss," said D.A. Flynn Broady.

Parents of Murdered Children helps grieving families

The group will help parents of murder victims, like those in the photos that hang on the wall at the District Attorney's office. They'll be able to share their story with others who understand what they're going through, talk about their grief, and support one another.

"The guy had a gun, and he just shot Xavier," said Brenda Tibbs.

Brenda Tibbs lost her son about 2 years ago.

"Every day was a struggle. I would sit in my car and cry," said Tibbs.

She didn't have a support group to help her cope.

Now, she is on the board of this Parents of Murdered Children group in Georgia. She wants to be able to help other parents.

"Anyone that's going through what we all went through, can understand. We can help other people," said Tibbs.

"This is to help other families get through, just to be able to wake up in the mornings and know there’s hope," said Aguilar.

The newly formed chapter of the Parents of Murdered Children will meet for the first time on Tuesday, Feb. 6, at 6:30 p.m. at the Cobb Family Advocacy Center, 277 Fairground Street, Marietta.