Mother’s Last Words Before Dying in the Arms of Her Daughter, 15, After Husband’s 24-Hour Beating

When Aleisha Brown was 8 years old, her mother Shawntae packed Aleisha, her 7-year-old brother, and their newborn sister into the car and drove from Oklahoma City to Texas to see their father, Joshua, graduate from basic training.

It was already an exciting trip, Aleisha recalls, but it became unforgettable when her parents surprised everyone by announcing they would be getting married.

“He was in his [military uniform], and I just remember her being so happy,” Aleisha says of her mother.

Before the ceremony, Shawntae shared a private moment with her daughter. “It was so strange because she told me this by myself,” Aleisha remembers. “She said, ‘Even if, for whatever reason, even though me and your dad love each other very much, if we don’t stay married or something happens, I will always love you guys and always choose you first.’”

Seven years later, in 2020, those words would echo back in heartbreaking fashion — Shawntae’s final words to her eldest daughter were once again an expression of love.

“She told me she loved me,” Aleisha says softly.

By then, Shawntae had endured 24 hours of relentless physical abuse at the hands of her husband. Aleisha and her siblings — 15, 14, and 7 — were trapped inside the house during the attack, doing everything they could to shield the youngest from what was happening just beyond their door.

Things hadn’t always been this way.

Aleisha says her childhood had been peaceful until Joshua returned from his deployment in Afghanistan around 2016. “He was definitely more aggressive, more irritable, angry. And after that is when the abuse started getting bad,” she recalls. “It had never been like that before.”

Although her father never physically hurt the children, living with him was terrifying. “It was like walking on eggshells,” Aleisha says. “A constant hostile environment.” Under his control, the family became isolated from relatives.

When Joshua was caught cheating, Aleisha says, “he started getting more paranoid.” Soon, he installed cameras throughout their home. “He was listening to our conversations, watching us do everything,” she recalls. If he suspected anything, even something small, there would be hours of interrogation — and much worse for her mother.

Shawntae never told her children what she was enduring, which Aleisha believes was an act of protection. Still, Aleisha admits she struggles with conflicted feelings about her father. “Part of me still thinks he was a good dad,” she says. “But then I wonder how much of that was real and how much was Mom trying to protect us.”

Four years after the abuse began, Joshua fatally beat Shawntae on September 30, 2020. She was 34 years old.

“He would have these episodes,” Aleisha says. “And this was one of them.”

That day’s trigger was something as small as a curtain in her brother’s room and her father’s paranoid belief that his wife was being unfaithful. “That’s when it clicked — it was no longer my dad,” Aleisha says.

For 24 hours, she heard her mother pleading and trying to calm him down. “It was definitely the worst one we’d ever been through,” Aleisha says.

When it was over, Joshua called Aleisha into the room and ordered her to clean her mother. “I was in the bathtub cleaning her off, and she was going in and out,” she recalls. Her father grew angry as Shawntae slipped in and out of consciousness — until he suddenly realized what he’d done.

“His switch flipped,” Aleisha says. “As soon as he realized she wasn’t okay, he panicked.”

He told Aleisha to call 911 but instructed her to lie. “He told me to say she overdosed,” she says. Paramedics arrived quickly, but Shawntae was pronounced dead at the scene — in her daughter’s arms.

“I feel selfish for saying it,” Aleisha admits, “but I’m glad she died in my arms. It’s comforting in a way.”

Joshua was arrested soon after. “The last thing he said to me before they took him away was to take care of my siblings,” Aleisha recalls.

For five years, the family waited for justice. Last week, Joshua reached a plea agreement — pleading guilty to first-degree murder and three counts of child abuse in exchange for avoiding the death penalty. He will serve four life sentences without the possibility of parole.

Aleisha believes the outcome reflects her mother’s compassion. “I think this is what my mom would have wanted,” she says. “I know she would still love him and give him another chance at life.”

Her mother’s selflessness remains Aleisha’s guide. Shawntae had dreamed of becoming a doctor but gave up that dream when she became pregnant at 18.

“She never once made us feel like she regretted it,” Aleisha says. “She told us she made that decision for our family and would do it a hundred times over.”

Today, Aleisha is keeping her mother’s dream alive. Now in her second year at Rose State College in Arkansas, she is majoring in media and communications. “Going to college is something my mom always wanted for me,” she says.

Even now, five years later, her mother remains her inspiration. “I hope to show her selflessness, her love, and her passion,” Aleisha says. “She was the best mom. When I smile, I try to imitate her smile.”