*UPDATE* FDs mom dead

First off, thank you everyone for your thoughts and prayers. Dancing Queen has not been told yet. We are waiting to get an appointment with one of the psychologists to assist us in telling her about her mom even though it is probable she will not understand much of what is happening. We want to make sure we don't do anything to set back all the wonderful progress she has made since her injury. It was officially ruled a homicide this morning. Her mom was killed by "blunt force trauma" and her father has been arrested and charged with 2nd degree murder. He is being held without bond. Thank God! Because if he was bailed out, they were going to have to take her, and possibly us, into protective custody, and that would have been really hard for her to understand and really hard for us to deal with. This is the saddest case I have ever been involved in. Our community is tight-knit, her mom has lived here her whole life, and had many friends, many of whom I taught, something I discovered only after she died. I discovered I did know who she was, by her maiden name, and I taught her brothers. She was an amazing young lady when I knew her - full of life, spirit and joy. She always had kind words and had all the promise in the world. Now she is dead. I know she made a choice to be with him, but I truly believe that by the end, she was staying to protect her little girls, and she made the ultimate sacrifice with her life. I am determined to make sure her sacrifice does not go to waste. If I have any say at all, I will make sure HIS family does not get custody of these little girls. We've been asked, if the possibility came up, would we keep DQ? We have said "Absolutely, and we'll take her sister as well because they should be together." Right now, as it stands, the maximum sentence he can get is 22 years in jail, although usually they plead down to 10-12 years. If they add charges for the aggravated assault he did to his daughter, then he could serve more. I am hoping the justice system, for once, does not let me down, but I'm not holding my breath. I will, of course, add more updates when I know more. Again, I cannot thank you enough for all your support. My heart is broken for those two little girls, and for her family. I know what it is like to have your family shattered by violence, and it is a horribly experience one doesn't forget.