Most obituaries leave heartfelt memories of loved ones passed - this was not the case of a recently deceased Reno, Nevada mother, Marianne Theresa Johnson-Reddick, whose children used the obituary section in the Reno Gazette-Journal to reveal the torture and abuse they suffered at the hands of their late mother.
“On behalf of her children who she abrasively exposed to her evil and violent life, we celebrate her passing from this earth and hope she lives in the after-life reliving each gesture of violence, cruelty, and shame that she delivered on her children," the jaw-dropping obituary begins, as quoted by People.
In between 1963 and 1964, six of Johnson-Reddick’s eight children were removed from their mother’s home following years of abuse.
"Everyone she met, adult or child was tortured by her cruelty and exposure to violence, criminal activity, vulgarity, and hatred of the gentle or kind human spirit," the obit said. "Our greatest wish now is to stimulate a national movement that mandates a purposeful and dedicated war against child abuse in the United States of America."
The obituary has gained so much attention that it has since been removed from the Gazette’s online archive, pending further investigation into the claims. The obit can now only be viewed in the printed version of the newspaper.
Patrick Reddick tells The Associated Press, “Everything in there was completely true," describing his late mother as a "wicked, wicked witch."
“The main purpose for putting it in there was to bring awareness to the child abuse. And shame her a little bit,” he adds.
Marianne Theresa Johnson-Reddick died August 30 following a battle with bladder cancer.