Community members are encouraged to wear pink today in honor of a Pleasanton teen who was found dead in Newark last week.
Police found the bodies of a 17-year-old Pleasanton girl and a 24-year-old Livermore man in a second floor room at the E-Z 8 Motel Friday morning.
The couple had sustained gunshot wounds and were pronounced dead at the scene.
Authorities are investigating the incident as either a murder-suicide or double suicide. However, Newark police told the Fremont Argus that it may take weeks to determine the cause of death and several months to sort out what took place.
Though authorities did not release the identities of the victims, family and friends confirmed that the teenage victim was Patricia Martin, a 17-year-old girl reported missing as a runaway on Sept. 10.
Patricia’s mother, Kathy Martin, posted on Facebook that her daughter was last seen with James Cole, also known as James Shanelec, a 24-year-old from Livermore. He was driving a white two-door Honda with a sunroof, she said.
A vehicle similar to the one Martin described was surrounded with police tape in the motel’s parking lot Friday.
Martin announced on Facebook yesterday that today would be "Pink Day" in Patricia's honor.
Patricia’s school, Village High School in Pleasanton, also began offering grief counseling services at the school.
An anonymous student support hotline for the Pleasanton Unified School District can be reached at 925-417-5199.
Anyone with possible information related to this case is encouraged to call the Newark Police Department at 510-578-4237 or the Pleasanton Police Department at 925-931-5100.
Suicide prevention resources
According to the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention website, there are 36,000 suicide deaths in the U.S. every year. These can be prevented, the organization says.
Some of the warning signs of suicide are "serious depression, increased use of drugs or alcohol, unnecessary risk-taking, making threats of suicide and making a plan," according to the foundation.
If you know someone who is showing the warning signs of suicide, reportingonsuicide.org recommends not leaving the person alone. It says you should “remove any firearms, alcohol, drugs or sharp objects that could be used in a suicide attempt” and call U.S. National Suicide Prevention Lifeline.
There are many options for those seeking help.
- Anyone in crisis can go to any hospital emergency room for help.
- Hotlines are available such as 1-800-SUICIDE or 1-800-273-TALK.
- Suicide prevention websites are available 24-hours-a-day.
- Call 911 if you are experiencing a mental health emergency
Without going into private details, I can just say the father passed away very suddenly about 13 months ago. It was an unexpected and very sudden passing. Our family knows the mother to be loving as you've described and also very hard working. Tricia herself was vibrant and had many friends. Many of the teens in the community are just in shock and I just can't even imagine what her family is going through. The pink request did seem to start to be passed through the teen community here late yesterday so I'm sure many will honor Mrs. Martin's request and do so out of love for the Martin family and to honor their friend.