The heartbroken parents of the American prosecutor who was murdered outside her home on the island of Yap just as she was closing in on a child sex trafficking case are speaking out.
Rachelle Bergeron, 33, who is originally from Wisconsin, was shot three times on October 14 on the tiny Pacific island of Yap while jogging outside of her home.
She was the acting Attorney General on the tiny Pacific Island of Yap. She had told her husband she feared for her life due to the dangerous nature of her job working on child trafficking cases.
‘She wanted justice and to help everybody,’ Rachelle’s mother, Tammy Bergeron said to Inside Edition. ‘She had this beautiful balance between justice and doing right, but also compassion and love for other people.’
The parents of murdered American prosecutor Rachelle Bergeron, 33, who was shot dead on October 14 are speaking out saying ‘She wanted justice and to help everybody’
‘She had this beautiful balance between justice and doing right, but also compassion and love for other people,’ Rachelle’s mother, Tammy Bergeron, said. Pictured above with Rachelle’s father Tom Bergeron and the 12-year-old girl Deesha she wanted to adopt
Rachelle’s husband Simon Haemmerling found her body outside of their home and also saw the killers killed one of their dogs who may have been trying to protect her.
‘When this whole thing went down, I was screaming and I think everyone on the island could hear me cry,’ Haemmerling said.
Rachelle spent her life battling sex traffickers in the US and worked as a New York human rights lawyer before she moved to the tiny Micronesian island to continue her work there.
In 2014 she helped produce the PSA ‘Not So Super’ that raised awareness about sex trafficking at the 2014 Super Bowl in New Jersey.
‘From [a] young [age], she always had this idea she wanted to be in the F.B.I.,’ her father Tom Bergeron said.
!['From [a] young [age], she always had this idea she wanted to be in the F.B.I.,' her father Tom Bergeron said](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2019/10/23/00/20059890-7602613-image-m-18_1571785244345.jpg)
‘From [a] young [age], she always had this idea she wanted to be in the F.B.I.,’ her father Tom Bergeron said
On Tuesday hundreds gathered for an emotional memorial service on Yap
Her sister Emily and brothers Nick and Ryan were seen carrying an empty casket at the service, as her real body was transported to Dover, Delaware in the U.S. for an autopsy
Yap has a reported problem with the sex trafficking of underage girls to merchant marine crews that anchor in its harbors.
She and her husband were planning to adopt a 12-year-old girl named Deesha who they found sleeping on their front porch one morning. They wanted to bring her back to the U.S. with them.
‘She was like a mother to me,’ Deesha said. ‘Really so much more.’
An emotional memorial service took place on Yap on Tuesday where hundreds gathered to pay their respects.
Her sister Emily and brothers Nick and Ryan were seen carrying an empty casket at the service, as her real body was transported to Dover, Delaware in the U.S. for an autopsy.
Rachelle’s parents, Tom and Tammy Bergeron, embrace at the scene of her murder as hundreds of people were expected to attend a memorial service Tuesday
Her parents said she was passionate about justice and knew from a young age she wanted to work with the law
The FBI, pictured at Rachelle’s home, said in a statement that its Honolulu division was proving investigative assistance in the case at the request of Micronesia. Both FBI and Yap officials declined to comment further on how the case was progressing or talk about possible motives
The killing has shocked the tiny island of Yap, home to 11,000 people
Investigators have still not apprehended any suspects in connection to the murder, but they say there are several persons of interest in the case.
Though no arrests have been made in the case, authorities said Monday they have identified ‘several’ persons of interest and have a ‘good idea’ of who murdered Rachelle.
It is not yet clear how many persons of interest police have identified or if they have questioned anyone in relation to the shooting. Governor Henry S. Falan said officials are now working toward ‘concluding the investigation with an arrest and, ultimately, a conviction’.
Friends believe her death was related to her work as acting attorney general of Yap State. Her duties included being part of a human-trafficking task force, and friends say some criminals may have held a grudge against her.
Rachelle Bergeron was killed last week in the Pacific nation of Micronesia after returning home from a run with her dog. Police have identified ‘several’ persons of interest in her murder
No arrests have been made in the case, which friends believe was related to her work as acting attorney general of Yap State. Her duties included being part of a human-trafficking task force, and friends say some criminals may have held a grudge against her. Rachelle is pictured on her wedding day to husband Simon Hammerling
In 2014 she helped produce the PSA ‘Not So Super’ that raised awareness about sex trafficking at the 2014 Super Bowl in New Jersey.=
Bergeron had ‘the most dangerous job in Yap’ fighting sex traffickers and domestic abusers,’ Amos Collins, a family friend, in an interview with ABC.
Friends said she had received so many threats in her job and she was looking forward to returning to the US.
In an interview with Good Morning America on Thursday, Hammerling choked back tears as he described the ‘impact’ she had on the community.
‘I heard gunshots, three shots, really loud. I didn’t see any of the shooter and stuff. I saw Rachelle and our dog dead… I just kind of fell by her, not really thinking anything else,’ he said.
The pair were about to celebrate their first wedding anniversary.