A deeply sad mother who had to hold her newborn twin daughters while her boyfriend shot them to death is now ready to become a mother again.
Megan Hiatt, then 22, had decided on November 13, 2015 to end her violent relationship with 28-year-old Gawain Wilson, when he pulled out an AR-15 and fired several shots.
He killed both their five -month -old daughters Hayden Rose and Kayden Reese, as well as Hiatt's father, Travis Hiatt, 49, and left Megan with seven shot wounds in the chest and stomach before he committed suicide.
But in the nine years and fifty operations since the tragedy, Hiatt moved from Florida to Texas, where she married the love of her life in 2021, Joseph Johnson, reports the New York Post.
They are now both trying to become parents, and will soon hear from the doctors whether they can become pregnant naturally or whether they should turn to in vitrofertilization.
Natural fertilization can be a problem because of the extent of the injuries it has sustained because of the fatal shooting, but in vitrofertilization can cost between $ 12.00 and $ 15,000, excluding medicines, which according to the researchers could yield an extra $ 4,000 to $ 6,000 per cycle . An online collection campaign that the couple has set up.
They also consider adoption and serve as foster parents, notes.
“Joe and I would like to adopt a few children who have lost their most important caregiver due to domestic violence,” Hiatt explained to the post.
Megan Hiatt, then 22, was forced to hold her twin daughters, Hayden Rose and Kayden Reese, when her friend shot them on November 13, 2015.
She has since moved to Texas and married Joseph Johnson in 2021
“There is a level of understanding that they would otherwise not get.”
Wilson was in the habit of destroying things in the house when he got angry, and confessed to be guilty of strangulation in 2013, after which he participated in a domestic violence program.
On the night of November 13, 2015, Hiatt said that she had already packed her things and was ready to leave Wilson, while her father was outside the house in Jacksonville to offer emotional support.
Hiatt discussed co-parenting with her then friend when she said he “started to shake physically” and became “visibly distraught.”
“We were on the couch,” she said. “He had Reese, I had Rose and we gave them bottles.
“My things were packed outside in a truck and he became furious.
“He asked,” Are we over? “
“Yes,” Hiatt recalls his answer.
Her friend at the time, Gawain Wilson, 28, had the habit of destroying things in the house when he got angry, and known to be guilty of strangulation in 2013 – after which he participated in a domestic violence program.
“Are you sure we're done?” Wilson insisted.
“It is not the intention that we have a relationship together,” said Hiatt.
At that moment, she said, Wilson got up, “Throwed Reese on the couch,” and went to the cupboard where he kept his firearms.
“He said to me,” I'm going to kill your father and you're going to look, B ****, “Hiatt said.
When her father then heard her scream, he stormed through the front door, on which Wilson opened the fire.
Travis was always shot, but tried to push herself up again, she said.
In the meantime, Wilson, who was a motorcycle technician was aimed at the Navy, the AR-15 on Hiatt and his daughters.
“At this point I know we're going to die,” Hiatt said. 'What should I do, fight against an AR-15?
“I was hysterical and I was willing to die with my daughters in my arms and to protect them as well as possible.”
When the babies were deadly shot and Hiatt was seriously injured, Wilson shot himself through the head.
Wilson also shot Hiatt's father, Travis Hiatt, 49 years old, dead
The twins are now buried next to their grandfather
“At the end, when everything had happened, I could hear my father die, and I cried,” Hiatt said.
“I said to him:” I'm so sorry, I didn't know he was going to do this, “she said.
When she then asked her father why he didn't just stay, “he said he wanted to take care of every bullet he could, so that there would be no more bullets for me and the girls.”
But Hiatt was left with shattered left leg and knee, lost her left eye and could no longer walk.
Years later, the 31-year-old can now move without a walker or wheelchair. She is now also good enough to attend first birthday parties and baby drinks.
Hiatt has also become an avid advocate for domestic violence and is a project manager for the non-profit Egrab Foundation, which aims to offer housing to victims of domestic violence and human trafficking.
She attributes her recovery to her faith and says to the post: “Everyone has to find hope for something, and I hope that one day I will be able to hug my daughters again – to see my father again.”
