Reader comments
Utahn reunites with officer who saved her life when dad, sisters were slain in 1952

Pat | 7:28 a.m. July 5, 2009

What a magnificent REAL testomony of a true Christian this mother, Christal, has been in this life.

Faced with devistation and unimaginable horror in her life, she holds onto faith, forgiveness and God`s will in her life to remain positive and productive.

A very touching story and a glimpse at how our Lord`s teachings can and do get us through the worst life has to offer....

Melba Megnezik | 7:46 a.m. July 5, 2009

Incredible story of endurance!

Heartwarming Story | 8:18 a.m. July 5, 2009

This is an incredible story. Thank you for the well written, lengthy detailed account. It is one that needed to be brought to light and told, and worthy movie script material. It was heart wrenching as well. Sondra, who was the child had a purpose and survived to tell her experience. Her mother also is a hero and a woman of faith, forgiveness and courage. Officer Cooley deserved more than just a handshake, and is a hero too. Sondra, best to you and your pursuit to your doctoral degree. You have an amazing story to share, do it. Thank you again. Anna McIntire.

Comments continue below

Heather | 8:18 a.m. July 5, 2009

A small tribute to the mother, Christal. She has passed on now, but truly exemplified what it is to be Christlike, to be forgiving, to enjoy ilife

A fellow journalist | 8:21 a.m. July 5, 2009

Amazing story Amy - award winning.

:) | 8:22 a.m. July 5, 2009

Absolutely amazing story. Thanks for sharing it.

Milt Lausten | 8:40 a.m. July 5, 2009

Inspiring!

TK | 9:10 a.m. July 5, 2009

A story worth reading... Thank you Amy for putting the meaning of the story to paper...

What | 9:50 a.m. July 5, 2009

an inspiring story. Thanks DN...

Lynn Anderson | 9:50 a.m. July 5, 2009

Inspirational! So refreshing in this world to hear such an incredible story of normal day to day heroism and forgiveness. Such a different result, i.e. wonderful blessings from the Lord rather than what so often is the result of such trials, a legacy of bitterness and hate. Thank you Sondra. We know that your mother and father are very pleased indeed in what you have done in your life for so very many.

Thank you | 10:58 a.m. July 5, 2009

Thanks to Sondra and to her mother! This is wonderful to read one of the few instances where someone chooses to trust and forgive and really move on.
I will think of them whenever I read of / see on TV the many who wallow in grudge and hate and revenge for years, when someone they love has been wronged.

bbc | 12:27 p.m. July 5, 2009

Wow. This is a remarkable - and very well written - story. Thanks for sharing. I am deeply touched.

Anonymous | 3:07 p.m. July 5, 2009

Wow it moved me to tears, Im so very pleased you shared this with us x

LK | 3:08 p.m. July 5, 2009

As tears are falling from my eyes...... "Thank you Sondra for sharing this tragic but inspiring life event". How wonderful that you were blessed with a strong Mother to help you carry on. She deserves a lot of credit! What powerful FAITH exists in your family!!! How awesome that Sondra was able to meet Officer Cooley! Thank you for the reminder of the importance of families, forgiving, surviving and relying in God through all of it!

Mark Wight | 3:44 p.m. July 5, 2009

I was at BYU when this event occured. My family in Susanville knew Gard Young and family and the sorrow carried to Provo to my self and roommates (also from Susanville, CA-Kent South and Vernon Todd). We met the mom and Sondra , when they came to Provo to restart their lives. Susanville, Chester and Westwood were close-knit communities in the far-northern section of California. What a great family and they still are.

Dorothy Wolf-salt lake city-utah | 4:00 p.m. July 5, 2009

I was moved with tears, my heart was beating through my chest when i read about how it must have felt to see the man that saved her life. There are truly heros in this world.

Anonymous | 5:11 p.m. July 5, 2009

I am privileged to be Christal's sister and Sondra, Wayne, and Tammy's aunt. Having lived through this with this remarkable woman and hearing directly from her her tremendous faith you can be assured that it was genuine and real. I have learned so much from her throughout my life. And I am privileged now to live close to these three remarkable children - Sondra, Wayne, and Tammy! I think you can see that Christal learned a lot of that faith from her, and my, special mom and Dad! Let's all learn from this wonderful woman and her family!

Wendel Wight | 5:56 p.m. July 5, 2009

Thanks Mark for sending this on to me. I was thirteen when this happened. It brought back memories of visiting with the family in their rooms above the grocery store. And of the shock and disbelief that something like this could happen around Susanville, Westwood and Chester. What faith Sondra has! And what a marvelous story of forgiveness from her mother.

reunion | 6:22 p.m. July 5, 2009

I'm so glad this CHP officer was able to see Sondra again. It must have been very emtional for them both. And wonderful the CHP sent some officers to acknowledge the his efforts and the terrible situation he extracted good from.

Hero cop and mother | 6:43 p.m. July 5, 2009

Thank God that there were then and now are men like this police officer. And how wonderful an example of a mother's faith and devotion and commitment to bring good into a world of evil.

tumbledrylowd | 8:21 p.m. July 5, 2009

What a privilege to learn of this family and the help of the highway patrolman. The story brought me to tears. The story about the olympics connection shows what a small world we live in. God bless everyone.

wow | 9:38 p.m. July 5, 2009

I am glad the emphasis was on the faith and hope it took (largely from Christal) to overcome such a tragedy. I hope the screen play will be made into a movie and that there is that same emphasis in it.

Deborah | 10:16 p.m. July 5, 2009

Christal is my great-Aunt, and it was so wonderful to read this beautifully written story. Christal was one of the most positive, caring, and devoted people I have ever known, and I have always admired her for those traits. Thanks for reminding me of the inspiring lives of her and her family.

Digbads | 11:36 p.m. July 5, 2009

What a great story!

Thanks for it.

Clark | 9:10 a.m. July 6, 2009

What an amazing story and one that has been written so well. Rick and Joe you need more of this type of story in the DNews. Congrats to the reporter.

WBM5 | 11:15 a.m. July 6, 2009

Let us all stop whining about our lives and find strength and inspiration to live! I know most of us never have to experience this difficult kind of trial. We can be better and we can face out hardships. We can find the strength to face our small challenges. Thank you for giving us your story.

I also want to thank the photographer for the pictures. I especially liked the picture of Cooley's hands. I saw his hands and I thought of those hands picking up that little girl as she reached out of the trunk. Very good job!

Anna | 3:07 p.m. July 6, 2009

This Story is AMAZING! It really has been written REALLY well! I just want to try and find the newspaper arcticle from 1952 when it happened

Anonymous | 1:30 p.m. July 7, 2009

It is nice to see a newspaper (journalist & journalistic outlet) actually get the story correct and depict it correctly. I have lived with these memories since it happened and have used it as a faith/love promoting experience often as it always helped me to stop feeling sorry for myself for a short while. Sondra came to live with my family for that short time after the murders and became my 'sister' in my (our) family in an attempt to keep the 'bad guys' from finding her. We knew and were close friends with her whole family and value that friendship to this day. I seek only the very best that the Lord can offer Sondra. Love ya, Mets

happy | 6:36 p.m. July 7, 2009

Thank you for recognizing my great uncle in his great effort to rescue Sonda. My great uncle is truly a great and very caring person and there is never a stranger among him. I will always remember the look and smiles on his face when he saw Sondra. Also when the CHP's came up and acknowledged officer Cooley and he shed happy tears. My great uncle is truly a wonderful and caring person to everyone. Thank you for finally bringing this to light and acknowledging a wonderful person. God bless you all and thank you. Toni

Rosala Jensen | 7:09 p.m. July 8, 2009

This story touched a lot of lives! I was a six years old when this happened and I overheard my mother and aunts discuss this through my young years and had many unanswered questions! Thank you! God bless those heros!

phyllis cantwell | 6:54 p.m. July 18, 2009

i was on duty at the desk of the hospital when this happened. saturday was a day short of nurses and we were instruced to answer the emergancy door if the bell was rang and get a nurse. i opened the door to see jeff cooley holding that little girl, who was the age of my daughter, in his arms. i can still see that image. we also were asked to not wear red all the time the little girl was in the hospital because she would freak out when she saw red, which when this was solved it proved the woman involved was wearing red.
i live in chico where jeff lives and i hope to connect with him at one of our westwood lunches.

Kim | 11:32 p.m. July 19, 2009

I'll join with my other family members who have posted to say what a remarkable woman of faith my great-aunt Christal was. I only knew her in her older years, and would stay with her at times when I was attending BYU-Provo. I knew about this tragedy, and would always stare at Aunt Christal -- who was soft-spoken, gentle, and not more than five ft. tall -- and could not imagine such a heinous crime happening to someone like her. You would never know it by the way she lived her life, with faith in Jesus Christ and eternal families.

I did not know, however, about officer Cooley and these other details shared by Sondra, so I am very grateful to this reporter for writing such a compelling and heart-felt story. I hope the movie comes to be -- it will be an inspiration to many!

Kathie | 10:49 a.m. July 20, 2009

Thank you for a story that filled my heart with gratitude for people who live their lives in such an exemplary way that they mark the path for the rest of us. The media needs to highlight more stories of unsung heros and heroines rather than bringing attention to the ugliness in the world. So many times in life, people are overwhelmed by the bad things that happen to them and never are able to fulfill their potential. This story is a triumphant example of exchanging "beauty for ashes." Thanks once more.

Geraldine Wal ters | 8:18 a.m. July 26, 2009

I am so happy that this is still on the Internet so I can add more. Christal was my "favorite" sister, even though I had 7 others and 3 brothers! She touched my life so much! I was privileged to see her every day during her last trying days after a stroke. Her faith NEVER faltered and she continued to bless any and all who came to visit her. I am so glad Sondra miraculously got to meet/hug/love "Mets" again when she stayed with another of my sisters on her way to see Officer Cooley! Let's all learn from this story!!

Arnell Litster Clark | 4:08 p.m. Aug. 2, 2009

Christal and Guard were very special to me. I was working for them in San Francisco, when I met my husband.
When I visited with Christal after her stroke I was so impressed with the loving care Sondra, Wayne and Tammy and their children gave her. Sondra's children would address her as "Grandmother."

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19 photos

Kristin Murphy, Deseret News

Sondra Jones waters the gravesites of her family in the Westwood Cemetery in Westwood, Calif., on Friday. Jones was a child when she was rescued by a CHP officer from the trunk of her family's car after being beaten during a robbery and left in the car overnight. Her father, 2 sisters, and a family friend did not survive the beatings. Jones was the only survivor.

Gallery (19 photos)