DENHAM SPRINGS — In the quiet moments after the machines went still, Twanna Sibley and her family, made one final walk beside her daughter — not to say goodbye, but to honor who Jasmine Newhouse was.
At just 18-years-old, Newhouse became an organ donor, a decision she made a year earlier at the DMV, standing next to her her mother. The teenager was allegedly shot by her 35-year-old boyfriend around 3 a.m. on Jan. 31st in Livingston Parish. She died from her injuries nearly a week later.
“The honor walk was yesterday, and it was really, really nice,” Sibley said. “Jasmine was 17 when she got her driver’s license. When they asked about organ donation, she looked at me and said, ‘Mom, do I want to be an organ donor?’ I told her it was her choice, that she needed to think about it. A few seconds later, she said, ‘You know what, Mom — I’m going to be gone. I don’t need them. And if I can help someone else and save their life, that’s what I want to do’.”
Hospital staff lined the halls as Newhouse was wheeled past them — a final tribute known as an honor walk. Nurses, doctors, and strangers stood in silence as a young life ended and several others were given a second chance thanks to the procured organs.
After the walk, Jasmine’s body was transported to Covington for surgery. Sibley received a message early the next morning letting her know her daughter was being prepped.
“All of Jasmine’s tests came back good,” she said. “She was approved as a full donor. The only thing they couldn’t take was her right lung, because there were metal fragments from the bullet.”
Even in death, Jasmine gave life.
“Jasmine is going to be the light in somebody else’s darkness,” her mother said.
Jasmine Newhouse | A Family Shattered
Jasmine was the oldest of three siblings — a 16-year-old brother she grew up alongside, and a nine-month-old baby sister who will never get the chance to know her.
“She and her brother were only 18 months apart,” Sibley said. “They weren’t just brother and sister. They were best friends. My baby didn’t even get to meet her sister.
Sibley said Newhouse’s heart was her defining trait.
“I instilled a lot of great qualities in my daughter, and one of those was unconditional love,” she said. “Jasmine didn’t see all the bad. She loved genuinely. To her, ‘sorry’ meant something. Whether it was sincere or not, it always meant something to Jasmine.”
That love, Sibley believes, kept her daughter in a relationship that ultimately cost her life.
“Despite the bad times they kept having, his ‘sorry’ really mean’t something to her,” she said through non-stop tears.
Newhouse had been in this relationship for a mere five months, her family told UWK.
MORE: Boyfriend arrested after teenager shot in the neck
“This is a mother’s worst nightmare” | Community Wraps Around a Mother
In the midst of unimaginable grief, small acts of kindness have surrounded Sibley.
Her co-workers at Texas Roadhouse in Denham Springs wore purple in honor of Newhouse. Some showed up for the honor walk. Others sent messages, pictures and prayers.
Then came another gesture — one that Sibley says lifted an unbearable weight.
Someone stepped forward and offered to pay for Jasmine’s entire funeral.
“I’m just so grateful. It takes off the hardship of a mother just trying to bury her baby,” Sibley said while sobbing. “I miss her so much. I just want her last celebration to be meaningful. She meant so much to so many people.”
UWK helped connect the donor to the funeral home but the donor has requested to remain anonymous.
Without life insurance, Sibley had been facing the reality of burying her daughter while still trying to care for her surviving children. A GoFundMe was started to help fulfill Jasmine’s wish not to be cremated.
“I haven’t woken up yet,” she said quietly. “This is a mother’s worst nightmare.”
Sibley says Newhouse’s story has already begun reaching others.
“Because of your reporting, other girls who dated this guy have reached out to me,” she said. “That tells me this mattered. This had to be told.”
MORE: ‘There is a way out’ | The pain and protocol behind domestic violence calls for law enforcement
A Mother’s Message To The Man Accused Of Killing Her Daughter
When asked what she would say to the man accused of killing Newhouse, Sibley did not speak with rage.
She spoke with faith.
“I’m going to pray for him,” she said. “I don’t know what could possess someone to be so manipulative and hateful toward such an innocent girl. But I’m going to pray for him because that’s my Christian duty.”
She says her prayers extend beyond him — to his family as well.
“His parents have to live the rest of their lives knowing what their son did to an innocent soul,” she said. “I’m going to pray peace over his family, too. I’m just going to pray.”
MORE: Domestic violence survivor creates retreats to help women heal amid rising violence in Louisiana
Turning Pain into Purpose
Now, Sibley says her mission is clear.
“I want her name and her legacy to live on,” she said. “I want people to know we have to put a stop to domestic violence and gun violence. I want to be her voice. She’s not here to share her story anymore.”
She says Newhouse would want that.
“She would want people to know there’s a way out,” Sibley said. “This should not be the outcome.”
Through organ donation, Newhouse saved lives. Through her story, her mother hopes she will save more.
If you or someone you know is experiencing domestic violence, help is available. The Louisiana Domestic Violence Hotline is 1-888-411-1333.
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