Alex Pretti & Renee Good – Killed in Cold Blood – Minneapolis – Minnesota – USA – January 2026

Mother, the situation has gotten out of control among the members of our fractured collective American family. Father is not well. Without you around to rein in his worst instincts, he acts like a vengeful god, punishing those who don’t obey his commandments or kneel before him. He cannot tolerate independent thinking. Even a simple “no” enrages him. Nowadays, if you defy him, he doesn’t hesitate to leave you out in the cold to be trampled upon by his goons. If you die at their hands, he blames you for putting yourself in harm’s way.

Our siblings who enable Father’s tyrannical rule are shameless, feckless, and spineless. Big Brother is the worst of them all—he’s truly creepy. Mother, you wouldn’t recognize the man he has become. He and the other enablers seek only to remain in Father’s favor and share in the spoils of his vast business empire. Father says that the only limit to his power is his own morality. I’m afraid to even consider what he means by that.

I wish you were here, Mother.

Father has now turned his wrath towards our siblings in Minneapolis. I know what that’s like. We were the first to feel his ire when he sent his goons to Los Angeles last year. Our siblings in Minneapolis made the mistake of showing solidarity towards their law-abiding immigrant neighbors who are under siege. Father’s goons cannot tolerate that they’re blowing whistles in the streets to alert every one of their presence. By recording smartphone videos, they’re also bearing witness of their non-white neighbors being snatched from their homes, schools, churches, and workplaces. Even the little ones are not spared.

You would be proud of our siblings in Minneapolis, Mother. They even deliver food to immigrant families scared to leave their homes. Despite freezing conditions and risks to their safety, they show up every day in the streets. What proof that goodness still flows through the hearts of our fractured family.

The news gets worse, Mother. Father’s goons—armed thugs, hiding behind masks—are operating with impunity. Their lawlessness is terrifying. They’ve killed two of our siblings in cold blood…in broad daylight—our sister and mother, Renee Good, and our brother and Veterans Affairs ICU nurse, Alex Pretti. I’m hurting, Mother. I know you did all you could to prevent such a tragedy. I salute them. They are everyday heroes.

Mother, what do we tell our adult kids who don’t understand what has happened to Grandpapa? Some still worship him. Some are angry. Some fear him. Some hate and despise him. Some have cut ties with him and family members who support him. As for me, Mother, my only recourse is a plea to Father’s better angels—whatever is left of his morality.

Is this what we’ve come to after almost 250 years of establishing our collective family in these lands? We have lost our way. What now?

I wish you were here, Mother. I miss your fairness, kindness, and openness.