Campus Connection

Mother shares story of losing her college-aged daughter

The mother of a former UW-La Crosse student who died during spring break in Florida wants to share her story to help others going through similar loss. Marie Sumnicht, from Green Bay, received the news that her oldest daughter, Julia Sumnicht, 21, was found dead in Miami Beach while on spring break March 15, 2010, as the result of a date-rape drug. “Having gone through the devastation in the aftermath of her loss, I can help other parents to find hope and purpose in the midst of their darkness,” says Sumnicht. Questions about her daughter’s death to a date-rape drug overdose were devastating. Answers about her death frustrated her and made her question those trying to solve the case. Sumnicht says bereaved parents who experienced date-rape drugging empathized with her and led her to help others going through a similar ordeal. [caption id="attachment_47562" align="aligncenter" width="685"] Julia Sumnicht, 21, was found dead in Miami Beach while on spring break March 15, 2010, as the result of a date-rape drug.[/caption] “As her death traumatized me down to the depths of my soul, I had to make choices about my life under the weight of great emotional distress,” explains Sumnicht. Sumnicht says some books have been written about loss, but few are written on guiding parents immediately after the loss. She hopes the book she is working on, “Justice for Julia,” will change that. “In my book, I will help the bereaved parents to make sense of their loss in the midst of despair and will be an advocate for victim,” says Sumnicht. “I will show the parent that what they believe — what they tell themselves — determines, in large part, the state of their well-being, as well as the length of time it takes to leave their depressed state.” Sumnicht has created a webpage — www.justiceforjulia.com — to fund her book, along with financially supporting Compassionate Friends, an organization that supports parents who lost a child. Here’s a story about Sumnicht’s work with “Justice for Julia”: http://www.wearegreenbay.com/news/local-news/justice-for-julia-sumnicht