Mother of Covelo Homicide Victim Asks for Understanding and Empathy

To All You People Who Are Hounding My Family As To Why We Weren’t There To Save Traci Bland:

I don’t know if you’ve ever tried to help someone who was addicted to drugs or not, but if you have, you know that unless they really want the help, you CAN’T help them. We chose to not partake in her choice of lifestyle. We all have tried to talk her out of it and to get straight. Her little sister took her children in and tried very hard to get Traci to go through rehab. She told her if she got a job she would babysit for free. Her uncle even offered to pay for her to go through rehab. Work was offered to her on the condition that she stayed straight.

We all tried to get her to get off the drugs. We did not want that lifestyle around us. We did not want it around our children, grandchildren, nieces, and nephews.

I know Traci felt her family done her wrong because we said we wouldn’t help her. What she did not say is that we would’ve helped her if she got off the drugs. She did not want that. She simply was not ready to give up that part of her life, not even for her children. We all love her, we don’t understand her choices, but no matter what she did or didn’t do, she didn’t deserve what she got anymore than my family getting ragged on for not being there to save her. Her girls are too young to have to deal with taking care of mom or even being able to save her. As far as Chloe goes, most likely there would have been three bodies found instead of two. My granddaughter doesn’t deserve to be tormented about why she wasn’t there to protect her mother. She’s young and is trying to better herself she deserves a life.

So all of you people who claim to be Traci’s friends and then haunt my granddaughter, why didn’t you protect her? Talk her into getting the help she needed? Look in the mirror and ask yourselves the same questions. For those of you who are involved in this catastrophe, ask how you would feel if the shoe were on the other foot? How would your families react?

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All I am asking is that you show a little compassion and understanding on how this side of the families feel. Love one another and stop killing each other. Your families hurt too, everything that we as humans do affect those around us. I realize that you’re hurting; so are we. But before this turns into something more nasty, think of your fellow man, think of everyone’s family. This has caused so much dissection for everyone, so much anger, so much hate. It is really very heartbreaking.

Mary Bland Kaser