Kriti Mehrotra
When Emilie Parker sadly lost her life at the tender age of 3 during the Sandy Hook Elementary School mass shooting on December 14, 2012, it turned the entire world upside down. This much is actually even evident in HBO’s ‘The Truth vs. Alex Jones,’ especially as it shines a light upon the aftermath of this tragedy through the eyes of the young victims’ loved ones. Amongst them was thus none other than her parents – Alissa and Robbie Parker – so now, if you simply wish to learn more about them as well as their current standing, here’s what we know.
Who Are Emilie Parker’s Parents?
It was back in 2006 when Emilie was born to Alissa and Robbie in suburban Connecticut as the eldest of their three daughters, just to unfortunately become frozen in time at the tender age of 6. Her mother still vividly remembers she’d awoken early on that fateful morning in excitement to play an angel in their local church’s Christmas play and was just sitting on her bed. As for her father, recalling this moment is extremely bittersweet for him considering he’d cuddled her before leaving for work, unaware it’d be the last time he’d ever get a chance to do so.
Alissa and Robbie have once also shared that their daughter had been admiring the black and pink flowers painted on her bedroom wall before getting ready for school. And thinking of this, the fact Emilie was just beginning to understand the concept of connections since she was excitedly pointing out the differences in some of the flowers, often breaks their heart too. That’s because they believed this morning to be one of the most beautiful ones they recently had as a family, yet little did they know their entire world would shatter apart by the time 10 am rolled around.
However, what followed made this entire situation all the more intolerable for Alissa and Robert since the latter’s public statement the next evening was construed in the worst way imaginable. He was hoping to calm down conspiracy theorists as well as reporters who’d constantly been contacting the family so that they could grieve in private, yet he was deemed an actor. He’d let out a nervous chuckle during the press conference before beginning to speak about his little girl and getting emotional, but that chuckle was taken as a literal laugh, and he was considered an actor.
InfoWars’ founder Alex Jones was arguably the most vocal with his claims concerning this matter, only for it to lead to Alissa, Robbie, and their two younger girls getting harassed. In fact, when he’d traveled to Seattle, Washington, for work one day a few years down the line, he was recognized and ridiculed there too, making it clear this fake news had spread like wildfire. This ultimately drove the Parkers to file a defamation turned emotional grievance case against Alex, alongside several other Sandy Hook parents, which culminated in them being awarded millions as compensation.
Where Are Emilie Parker’s Parents Now?
According to records, with Robbie being the only named plaintiff from the Parker family, he was awarded close to $60 million once all proceedings were said and done, but he is yet to receive any funds. However, his motive was never money; it was to take back the narrative of what’d transpired and achieve some justice for his daughter, which he, Alissa, plus their remaining two girls know they’ve achieved. Therefore, today, they seem to be doing their best to move on in life in the Pacific Northwest while still keeping Emilie alive in their hearts through some non-profit charity work.
While Alissa has since penned ‘An Unseen Angel: A Mother’s Story of Faith, Hope, and Healing After Sandy Hook’ and co-founded Safe and Sound Schools with fellow grieving mother Michele Gay, Robbie has worked hard to establish The Emilie Parker Art Connection to bring their late daughter’s passion for art to other kids across the nation. As for how they’re doing today as a family, the latter revealed in 2022 that they have definitely grown a lot.
Robbie said, “You can’t look at my wife and my girls — at our family — and not agree that we’re very, very blessed and we have a lot to be grateful for. We have learned how to be able to hold two things. We can enjoy the things that make us happy. And we can also carry with us the pain of losing somebody and the sorrow associated with that. They can exist in the same place at the same time. And that’s no longer as scary as it used to be.” Though they do stick to themselves every December 14 just to remember Emilie in peace.
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