The Labyrinth of Homicide and Healing

This story about tragedy and healing focuses on the unsolved murder of Tawnya Marie Leavitt, a fifteen-year-old girl I worked with when I was the social work intern at the Humboldt County Public Defender’s Office. Combining friend and family recollections with my own search for healing using the walking labyrinth at San Francisco’s Grace Cathedral, I have tried to offer a poignant portrait of Tawnya in the hope that it will help solve her murder and offer a way of healing for those dealing with tragedy.

The Labyrinth of Homicide and Healing was originally published in print in the Fall 2025 Issue of The Tulane Review.

Update: The name of Tawnya’s cousin has been changed to protect her privacy.

Note: There seems to be some confusion as to why I described Tawnya as a drug addict in my story. The Eureka Times-Standard reported this based on an interview with Tawnya’s mother: “[Rhonda] Bullard said she’s dealt with her daughter’s [Tawnya’s] drug addictions since she was nine-years-old.” Source: Eureka Times-Standard, Page A1, A Mother’s Tale, Friday Feb. 13th, 1998. Since this is publicly available information, Tawnya herself admitted it to me, and it has been collaborated on numerous occasions, I chose to include it in the story. Accepting Tawnya for who she is, is part of healing. It’s not meant to cast a bad light on her. Everyone I knew in Humboldt who knew about the murder, knew about Tawnya’s drug use.

Author: Eros Salvatore

I'm an author who writes about death, addiction and trauma through the mediums of literary fiction, creative non-fiction, new age fantasy and erotica. I am also the creator of "Meditative Touch" - a body-centered spiritual tool for relaxation and healing. View all posts by Eros Salvatore