New article on Amanda’s death...

Originally Posted on 8/17/08

Young mother's death leaves family in emotional and financial limbo
By Cecily Burt
Oakland Tribune
08/16/2008 07:23:44 PM PDT

OAKLAND — Seventy dollars. That's how much it cost each day Amanda Michelle Hunter's lifeless body lay stored at the morgue in downtown Oakland — $70 that her family didn't have.

Ever since Hunter, 23, was shot and killed in the early evening of July 23, her family has been on an emotional and financial roller coaster, treated one way when it looked like her death was a homicide, left set adrift when her death was ruled an accident.

Hunter, a mother of three children — 5, 3 and 2 — was fatally shot in the head by a bullet fired from an SKS assault rifle owned by her boyfriend, Jonathan Ho, 25, in his apartment on Mead Avenue in West Oakland.

Amanda's children are with her mother, who did not want her name used in this article, and Amanda's older sister, Candice Hunter, 28. They haven't yet told the children about their mom, and they make sure the oldest child is not within earshot when they speak about her death. Still, it's hard to hide the anger and frustration they feel over the way authorities have handled Amanda's case.

It didn't start out that way. In the fog after Hunter's death, Catholic Charities' crisis response team member Marilyn Harris called to offer grief support and guidance. She told the family they would be eligible to receive up to $7,500 for funeral expenses from the state victim's assistance fund administered by the Alameda County district attorney's office.

They set up an appointment for a Monday morning. Then, with the help of other relatives, they started making arrangements for a nice service.

But when they arrived for their Monday appointment, the victims fund counselor informed the family that they were ineligible for financial assistance because Amanda's death was an accident, not a homicide. The counselor, Candice said, implied that somehow Amanda bore responsibility because she was the one with the gun.

"It was awful," Candice said. "It was so insensitive."

Not what it seems...

Oakland police homicide Sgt. Todd Crutchfield caught the case that night. He said it appeared to be a homicide, and Ho was arrested. Ho's version of events — that it was all an accident —seemed far-fetched, he said. But blood spatter and other evidence from the crime scene, coupled with results from the autopsy and ballistics convinced Crutchfield that Ho was telling the truth.

Ho, who is on parole for felony drug possession and prohibited from owning guns, told investigators that he and Amanda had been having a "discussion" about the assault rifle because she didn't want it there. He said he was leaving when Amanda threw the weapon at him. The rifle rotated in the air and went off when the butt hit the carpeted floor, a bullet hitting Amanda in the head.

"We thought it was a boyfriend kills a girlfriend case" Crutchfield said. " When I heard his story, I thought no way. But his story lines up with the evidence. It would be an amazing feat for him to concoct this."

Police found four guns in the apartment, including the assault rifle, which Ho said he kept at the head of the bed. A roommate was downstairs and heard the gunshot. Ho said he yelled for the roommate to come upstairs, then told the roommate to go to a pay phone and call an ambulance. Ho had a cell phone but never called 9-1-1, Crutchfield said, adding that Ho was very distraught.

Ho has been in custody since the shooting. He reached a deal Thursday with the district attorney's office and pleaded no contest, the same as a guilty plea, to one felony count of gun possession. He will serve 16 months in state prison. There was no mention of Amanda, or the shooting that sparked his arrest.

Butch Ford, Alameda County deputy district attorney, said Ho could have gotten two years on the gun charge if he was convicted in a trial. This way, he goes to prison right away.

Ford admitted the case bothered him, but they can only charge what they can prove.

"Still seems hinky to me," Ford said. "But I trust the police to do their investigation. They looked at the autopsy, the trajectory of the bullet "... still, it's a weird case.

"The only story is his. He said she threw the gun, and it went off, but (if it weren't) for him having the gun, she would be alive. It's an extremely sad case."

Chilling news report....

The night of the shooting, Candice Hunter and her mom were home watching "So You Think You Can Dance" on television when the station broke in with news about an Oakland homicide. The broadcaster didn't give a name; the victim was described as an unidentified 23-year-old female. But both mother and sister instinctively knew it was Amanda.

"I called OPD first, and they connected me to the coroner," Candice recalled. "I told her about Amanda's tattoos, gave her birth date. They called us back half hour later. They said ..I'm sorry, it's your sister.' It was right before midnight on the 23rd."

Candice has asked for a copy of the police report and the autopsy, but so far has had no luck. She said Ho was very controlling and jealous of her sister, information she would share with the investigators if they would return her calls.

"We are trying to get records to try and figure out how this could happen," Candice Hunter said. "My sister couldn't stand guns."

Lisa Foster, director of the Victims/Witness Assistance Program in Alameda County, said she felt bad for the family and called OPD just to be sure there wasn't a mistake. She said the family can appeal the decision to the state Victim of Crime Compensation program.

The fund is created from fees and restitution paid by felons. Early on it excluded payments for victims who were on felony probation or parole, but that has been changed. Accidental deaths, even from gun violence, are still excluded, she said.

A relative wrote a check to the coroner so Amanda's body could be released. The service the family had started planning quickly had to be scrapped because they had no money to pay for it. After a closed-casket service, the body was cremated, and Amanda's 17-year-old brother never got to see his sister.

"I feel like she didn't matter to them "... because of where she was found,'' the mother said. " She wasn't a rich white girl from the hills."

To the family Amanda was an exuberant young girl who excelled at music, art and gymnastics and dreamed of becoming a teacher or a nurse. Amanda could walk into a kitchen that you'd swear had nothing in it and whip up a full-course meal, her mother said.

Now the family is pulling it together for the children. Everybody, including the two brothers, coordinate their schedules to care for the children while the others work.

Nearly every inch of the family apartment's white walls are covered with colorful paintings and other artwork created by Amanda's 5-year-old son. The living room still bears the remnants of the younger daughter's second birthday celebration Aug. 6.

The family is receiving counseling assistance from the victim's assistance program in Napa, where Amanda lived previously, so they can figure out the best way to break the news to the children.

They know it's probably too late to do anything about Amanda's case, but they'd like to see the criteria changed so other families who lose loved ones to gun violence can be helped, even if it is an accident.

"Its not just about the money for the burial; they didn't offer any other assistance, no counseling," Amanda's mother said. "It's not just about the money."

Reach Cecily Burt at 510 208-6441 or cburt@bayareanewsgroup.com.

The Amanda Hunter Memorial Fund
Donations may be sent to:
Wells Fargo Bank
Acct. No. 8812091935
4103 El Cerrito Plaza
El Cerrito, CA 94530