St. Charles mother who died after falling at work was an artist, hard worker, husband tells News 4

ST. LOUIS (KMOV) - The pain is undeniable for Kevin Howe, sitting in his home next to pictures of him and his wife, Jessica Howe, on their wedding day.

“She was genuinely one of a kind. You will never find a nicer human being on the face of the planet,” said Kevin.

Jessica was an artist, compassionate to anyone she met, and a hard worker at whatever job she took on.

Her most important role to date: being a mother to her 5-year-old son and 1-year-old daughter.

“The last correspondence I had with her was I took our daughter to the park after going shopping and was swinging with her,” Kevin said. “I bought her a new little hat. She said, ‘That’s so cute.’ And that’s the last I heard from her.”

The 32-year-old mother died on April 15 after falling while working at Costco in St. Peters.

“I know that her coworkers heard a commotion, and they went back to the sink area and found her on the floor, and that’s about all anyone at Costco says they know,” said Kevin.

St. Peters Police say they responded to a call at the Costco location on April 15 at 11:51 a.m. and assisted the St. Charles County Ambulance District with a woman who fell but was breathing. She was transported to DePaul Hospital.

“And I remember hearing the call that her vitals were failing,” said Kevin. “Her brain activity in her left hemisphere was just completely dark, and that if she did somehow survive, she probably wouldn’t be able to talk to us, might not even recognize us, wouldn’t be able to move. So, I just kept hoping for a miracle.”

Doctors took Jessica off of life support Monday evening.

“Her heart stopped at 8:55 on the dot,” said Kevin. “The first couple of days, I was just nothing but anger. You couldn’t get your questions answered and it was frustrating.”

Questions remain surrounding how she died. News 4 has reached out to Costco for comment on this incident but have not heard back.

The St. Charles County Medical Examiner’s Office lists the cause and manner of her death as pending.

For now, Kevin is holding on to the love and support from their St. Charles community, as well as those who have donated and shown their love through the GoFundMe set up by Kevin’s sister to help support Jessica’s family.

Donations have already totaled more than $30,000 dollars.

“She wouldn’t have believed it,” said Kevin. “She honestly wouldn’t have believed it.”

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