'Violent, hateful, cruel': Southwest Michigan woman rips deceased mother in savage news obituary
ST. JOSEPH COUNTY (WWJ) - When a Southwest Michigan woman decided to air some major grievances about her deceased mother, she did it in such a spectacular fashion that it had to be removed from a local newspaper for upsetting readers.
As reported by the Sturgis Journal, Gayle Harvey Heckman decided to write out a scathing obituary in the Wilcox Newspaper revealing the family skeletons after the death of her mom, Linda Lernal Harvey Cullum Smith Stull, on Dec. 12, 2023.
Calling her "violent, hateful, and cruel," Heckman accused her mother, as well as others, of condoning sexual assault against her and of lying about the identity of her biological father.
The piece shocked readers, leading to its removal from the Three Rivers publication. The link now directs online users to an error page.
"Honestly, I wanted to write it for myself because I wanted to clear my name," Heckman told the Journal last week. "For 24 years and before that, my mother has had to come up with a reason as to why her daughter isn't in her life that doesn't make her look like a monster. … I had to reclaim my name."
In the article, which survives now via the Sturgis Journal, Heckman did not hold back about how she felt about her not-so dearly departed and even described writing the piece as therapeutic and freeing.
"As a mother, Lernal was violent, hateful, and cruel. She physically, mentally, emotionally, verbally, and financially abused Gayle," the print obit had said.
The daughter also publicly called out an alleged abuser, who was an ex-husband of her mother's.
"Lernal accused Gayle of 'trying to steal her husband' and proceeded to beat her senselessly," the obit reportedly says.
In conclusion, Heckman wrote: "Lernal will not be missed by Gayle or her family. They all understand the world is a much better place without her."
Heckman expressed her disappointment to the Journal when she discovered the obituary had been moved offline, stating that she should've been contacted by the paper before it was published if there was a problem.
Mike Wilcox, publisher of Wilcox Newspaper, admitted in an email to the Sturgis Journal that the piece was published without a thorough review.
"Obit was run in TR (Three Rivers) print edition (Dec. 15). It was submitted through our website, and was published without a good look on our part," Wilcox said. "We took it down from (the) website after complaints about its content poured in. After taking (it) down, several (mostly the daughter) complaints and phone calls were received admonishing us for doing so."
Heckman maintains she and her husband only contacted the paper twice over the incident, but said she's received an outpouring of support from other readers and survivors with their stories of abuse.
"I'm 54 years old and the internet, piece by piece, people were leaving love," the daughter told the Journal. "And I could feel my heart … the hole in my heart starting to fill."
