More Than A Memory: Lilli Pease

Click to Watch the Documentary of Lilli Pease

My name is Wendy Parrish. I am the President of Lilli's Light. I am also the Director of College Operations and Executive Administrator to the Linda Berry Stein College of Arts & Sciences at Jacksonville University. I am here to share the story of my darling niece, Lilli Pease.

My niece, Lilli, was born in 1998. She was my brother's first child; my parents first grandchild, and I was honored to be her auntie and godmother. Needless to say, Lilli was the center of our world. I was fortunate enough to watch this adorable, little girl grow into a beautiful, fun, brave, loving, and empathetic young lady.

Lilli and I were very close, and I would plan adventures for us as often as possible: Ceramics after school, Friendly's for ice cream, riding the train to Boston to see "Disney on Ice", the Nutcracker, and even Blue Man Group. Lilli was my mini-me and we loved being together. Lilli wanted to move to Florida, and live with me after graduation. My biggest regret in life- I did not make that happen fast enough.

Lilli graduated high-school in June of 2016. She turned 18 years old in July. On August 16th, a bunch of friends from school gathered for a party. Lilli went that night, intending to leave after a couple of hours. When she tried to call for a ride home later that night, a friend took her phone away, saying that she needed to stay and have fun. At about 1:00 AM, on August 17th, 2016, Lilli was seen unresponsive. Instead of calling 911, these friends worried about getting into trouble and decided to lie about the night's events and who was there. At 10:30 AM, 4 of those people put Lilli's lifeless body into a car and drove her body to a Dunkin' Donuts nearby. At 10:54 AM, someone finally called 911 to report an unconscious female in a car.

For almost 10 hours, not one person called 911. No one stepped forward to get Lilli the medical help she needed to survive. Her death was labeled an "Accidental Overdose", and the case was closed. No arrests. No prosecutions. No justice for my niece, who was given an illicit drug and left to die.

I was told by the Medical Examiner's Office that Lilli died from a lethal dose of Fentanyl. She had enough in her system to kill 10 people. Someone at that party gave her something with Fentanyl hidden in it, and killed her within minutes. Fentanyl is odorless and tasteless; you would have no idea what's happening until it is too late.

Lilli is not, unfortunately, an isolated case. This is happening everyday in the US. Opioids are killing more than 150 people everyday. (Need to review and rewrite ending statement to Lilli's story.)