Indexes
November 21st, 2009
November 20th, 2009
November 19th, 2009
November 18th, 2009
November 17th, 2009
November 16th, 2009
November 14th, 2009
The following stories have received the most reader comments during the last 7 days.
- The country's mess is our fault (170)
- Obama is not a moderate (130)
- Sarah Palin's book hits the shelves: Locals react (73)
- Lodi City Council plans to cap number of taco trucks at 22 (50)
- Public health care is a Christian option (50)
- The haves should help the have-nots (30)
- Tokay in, traveling to unbeaten No. 3 Grant for football playoffs (25)
- Government-run health care is a bad idea (22)
- Young woman fatally shot at Acampo home (17)
- Sierra Adventure store to close after four years in Downtown Lodi (16)
ADVERTISEMENT
Diane Drummond talks about her daughter, Jessica Sotelo, who was killed in an apartment fire on Dec. 20. Sotelo's twin daughters made this poster with their mom's name. (Jennifer M. Howell/News-Sentinel)
Grandparents take on role of parents as twins lose mom in fire
Assistant Sheriff John Drummond, with 31 years of experience in law enforcement, has had to deliver tragic news to many people.
But telling his twin grand-daughters that their mother was never coming back, that was the toughest.
"Their whole world was changed," said John Drummond, the father of Jessica Sotelo, the woman who perished in an apartment fire on Dec. 20.
"They're laughing and giggling one minute, then they're bursting into tears the next. Like us," he said.
John and Diane Drummond sat at their kitchen table Friday afternoon, remembering their daughter and how their fellow Lodi residents have overwhelmed their small family with support in the past couple of weeks.
In the center of the table sat a leafy wreath with a light green candle in the center. Green is their daughter's favorite color, they said. The candle remains lit to signify letting Jessica's light shine.
The couple looked at each other and laughed a little when they talked about Francesca and Joelle's "goal for the day" — playing outside in the sun with their beloved Beanie Babies, many of which were lost in the fire.
Fire and police are still unsure what caused the fire and their investigation continues.
On Friday morning, John Drummond prepared a brunch of green eggs and ham, which the twins ate before retreating to their play room.
The past two weeks have become "a blur," Diane Drummond said. They've read the newspaper reports and Web site articles about the fire and the death of their 34-year-old daughter. Daily errands, banking, fire investigation check-ups and attorney business take up most of their free time.
On Thursday, they filed paperwork seeking guardianship of Joelle and Francesca.
"This is where their life is," Diane Drummond said.
"We take on this responsibility joyfully," John Drummond added. "There's no other choice. But on the other hand, we want to do it."
Except for the occasional echo of laughter from down the hall, the Drummonds' house was quiet. No one has turned on the TV since last week, when grandma found news reports about the fire on two different channels at the same time. DVDs are about the only entertainment they have lately.
The grandparents have noticed the 10-year-olds have formed a silent team. They spend hours rolling around their matching pink Barbie vans and doing "girly girl" things. They sleep on bunk beds in the same room and cuddle with matching green and white pillows decorated with iron-on transfer photos of their mother — "so they can sleep with mom," Diane Drummond said.
The girls have asked to stay away from the Chateau Apartments complex, located at the corner of Church Street and Turner Road. Classmates at Lakewood School sent over a poster that everyone signed. For the celebration of life held last Tuesday at Temple Baptist, the girls created a "name poem" for their mom.
The last time John and Diane Drummond saw their daughter was day before the fire. Jessica had strep throat and just about everyone was battling winter colds, so John came up with a big pot of his chicken soup.
She had actually spent the better part of the day wrapping Christmas presents in her parents' living room. By the time the sun set, Jessica was headed home to watch "Gilmore Girls" on TV and set the gifts and stockings by the Christmas tree.
"She always said she loved them, gave them each a hug and a kiss. Those girls had no doubts they were loved, which is a tremendous gift," Diane Drummond said.
In the early morning hours of Dec. 20, a fire ravaged Jessica's townhouse, destroying all the mementos she had saved over the years. Incidentally, the girls were staying the night at their grandparents' house, as they had done just about every Tuesday night for years.
Firefighters couldn't recover much except a couple of stacks of photos, melted together from the heat.
John Drummond has become familiar with the steps involved in fire and police investigations. Arson is the only crime that's not self-evident, he said. In order to prove if a fire is accidental or arson, there are specific clues investigators seek out, he said.
He said he knows from his professional life that it can take months for investigators to gather all the pieces, but something tells him there are still unanswered questions.
His 34-year-old daughter was "a creature of habit," spending a few minutes at her parents' house before dropping off the girls in the morning, coming by after work every evening.
John and Diane are high school sweethearts, married for 37 years. Both graduated from Lodi High. In 1969, John Drummond was drafted into the Army and sent off to Germany, where Jessica was born. Their son, Jason, 35, was born in Stockton. By 1973, John Drummond accepted a job with the San Joaquin County Sheriff's Office, where he is still employed.
"It has been overwhelming how generous the community has been. We grew up in Lodi and we know why we're still here." John Drummond said.
Contact reporter Kendyce Manguchei at kendycem@lodinews.com.
First published: Tuesday, January 2, 2007
Search for Ads 
Today’s Print Ads 
RSS Feeds
Reader Feedback
A Lodi Mom wrote on Jan 2, 2007 10:12 AM:
touched reader. wrote on Jan 2, 2007 9:18 AM:
tragedy strikes wrote on Jan 2, 2007 7:31 AM:
Comments on this story are now closed.