Thank you for the warm welcome and for the condolences. I know that the family appreciates all the love and support, as do the huge number of lives that Julia and Jennifer have touched...
Ok, I will try to go into what I have heard and possibly know. Forgive me if it's long, but I was going to quote some posts here, but may be able to explain more just writing it out.
While I currently don't live in Monroe, I was born and raised there, and most of my relatives still live there, along with friends. It is a small town (about 25,000), and many know of each other. The entire Niswender-Turnquist family worked at Meijer at some point: Mom, Dad, twins, aunt, etc. Lifelong friendships have been formed there. Monroe still is recovering after the Nevaeh Buchanan murder that has never been solved. Things like that didn't happen in Monroe.
Ypsilanti (or Ypsi as the locals call it), is the town next door to Ann Arbor, home of U of M. The Ford plant that was the 2nd largest employer (and also where my dad and uncle used to work) closed down years ago and is vacant. Ypsi has a lot of poverty, compared to the more upscale Ann Arbor -it's almost like a
sibling. Even though I attend EMU, I feel safer going into Detroit that Ypsi - at least in Detroit, most of the thugs leave you alone, they don't want to cause trouble amongst those not in gangs, affiliated with drugs, etc. Ypsi there's no "respect" like that.. We always get emails about robberies, assaults, rapes, etc near campus.
Julia and Jennifer began working at Meijer at age 14 as baggers. My mother was their supervisor at one point. I got to know them better when I began working at Meijer myself in 2004. I had known of their Mom and sister previously as we are around the same age group. Both of them have an infectious, bubbly personality that left an impact on you. The memories I have of both of them (and I refer to both because where one was, the other was soon to follow...they were a team in every sense of the word). They moved departments and jobs as they grew up and ventured out into the world.
A lot has been brought up about trying to get a timeline - that is what we are all struggling with.... Obviously by looking at her Facebook, Twitter and Instagram you can see how social Julia was. She was always in contact with someone and always socializing and making plans. Other than drinking which most of us do and have done as a rite of passage growing up, myself and other closer friends know of NO drug use. that is not to say she may not have experimented, but she was not a known drug user.
There are a few things that have stood out in conversation. Rumors are always going to go around in instances like this, but 2 things that stood out. One is that her alarm clock was going off, which is what made the person that found her call for a welfare check. Second is that there is a rumor that one of the roommates was involved in possibly distribution of drugs. Please do not take that as gospel. However, if you think about it, what if Julia heard or seen something she was not supposed to. Julia (and Jennifer) have never been shy, or afraid to voice their opinions. You can see by some of the comments on Twitter. Some of that may be due to immaturity, some may be the need to stick up for herself or her family and friends. That was who Julia was and we loved and accepted her for it. It would also possibly tie into the fact that no visible trauma was found on her body, yet there was evidence to suspect foul play.
Someone mentioned seeing "RIP Sam" on her Twitter - that was a coworker at Walmart who had recently passed. I wouldn't even link it to Julia's death. It's a coincidence.
Monroe Meijer has had its share of tragedy this year. Earlier this week a longtime cashier passed away from illness, and a few months ago, a grocery team member who was friends with the Niswenders-Turnquists passed away suddenly when she was hit by a car.
I first heard of Julia's death about 11pm Tuesday evening. I believe that she may have been found earlier on Tuesday, possibly in the afternoon.
Any questions please feel free to ask and I will do my best to answer them. I apologize for the length of the message but I hope it answered peoples questions.
