March 18, 2019: Linda Preka Thom and her son, Denis, were living an American dream in peaceful suburb of Detroit, Grosse Pointe Farms, Michigan. Linda and Denis moved from Italy when he was only one year old, with the main reason being to give her son a better life and opportunities, and for her to escape the domestic violence from Denis’ father.
Linda was only 21 years old with no friends or family when she moved to the USA. She was the same age as her son when his life was taken away.
Denis’ mother worked so hard to give her son a better life, a life that she never had. Her goal was to provide him with the best education possible, and her hard work made that possible. Denis attended the most prestigious private schools in Michigan.
Denis went to St. Lawrence Catholic School and later attended high school at De La Salle Collegiate. Denis graduated with honors, founded the club Model United Nations and participated in soccer, lacrosse, track and field, and swimming.
He continued his academic career at the University of Detroit Mercy, majoring in both Psychology and Business. There, he founded Model United Nations as well as the Albanian American Student Organization. Later, he transferred to his dream school, the University of Michigan. He aspired to, more than anything, attend the Ross School of Business and pursue a career in Business Law.
Linda’s dreams and handwork for her only child were close to fruition, but one phone call on March 19, 2019, changed everything.
She was on her way to the airport with her husband to return home and celebrate Denis’ 22nd birthday the next day when she got the call. "Your son was found dead this morning" a voice from the Grosse Pointe Farm Police said. Her life was crushed as were the dreams she had worked for 21 years. She thought she was going home for Denis’ birthday celebration, she couldn’t have known she was coming home to celebrate his life and prepare for his funeral.
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March 20, 2019: Linda woke up in the biggest nightmare and pain that any parent can endure, the loss of a child. But it’s even more painful to go through on her son’s 22nd birthday. Instead of picking up a birthday cake, she was forced to pick a casket.
March 21, 2019: Friends and family mourned with us, and came together to help us get through this unimaginable pain. Denis’ stepfather, Jamie, received a Snapchat video showing Denis was betrayed and murdered by the repeat criminal, Nicholas Remington, at Denis’ “best friend,” Paul Wiedmaier’s, house. Denis suffered a horrible, humiliating death that was videoed by Remington and shared as a Snapchat story for his followers to see. Remington was on probation by two different courts for drug dealing. Wiedmaier betrayal invited Remington and his best (and only) friend, Connor Gibaratz to come over to Paul’s house around 10PM. That night all three of these criminals decided to poison with MDMA Denis and broadcast it live on Snapchat to have fun.
Linda was shocked to find out Wiedmaier played a role in Denis’ death and conspired to cover up the crime. Denis' pain and suffering lasted for hours, but Wiedmaier didn’t call 911 until 9:11 am next morning; 6 hours after Denis died."
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