Wife of Louisiana officer killed in line of duty shares pregnancy news
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Dechia Gerald, wife of slain officer Matthew Gerald, holds her two daughters at a vigil in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, U.S. July 18, 2016. REUTERS/Jonathan Bachman - RTSIM76
Baton Rouge police officer Matthew Gerald was killed in the line of duty on July 17, but his legacy lives on in his two daughters— and one more child on the way.
Dechia Gerald, 38, is 10 weeks pregnant with her late husband’s child, calling it his final gift, WAFB reported.
Gerald, a teacher, told WAFB that her 9-year-old daughter, Dawclyn, somehow knew she was pregnant before anyone else did. When Gerald was looking for clothes to wear to her husband’s funeral services, the girl said “Mommy, I don’t know why you’re complaining… Because you’re pregnant.”
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Her younger daughter, Fynleigh, 3, intuited the pregnancy a few days later. Gerald told WAFB that Fynleigh “told me the same thing. However this time, she told me that Jesus told her that there was a baby boy in my tummy."
A week later, Gerald bought a home pregnancy test, which confirmed her daughters’ suspicions. After telling her family, she shared the news with her late husband’s squad.
"For the most part, it's a blessing. I mean obviously he left us a very special gift behind, but at the same time, all those days that I get overwhelmed, I ask how am I going to do this by myself without him," Gerald told WAFB.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Gerald’s four-week ultrasound seems to show a wedding ring in the image, she said.
"I felt like when I saw that he was with us,” she told WAFB.
Matthew, a rookie cop, was a retired Marine corporal and one of three officers shot and killed during a shooting spree that left three other officers injured.