The mother of a police officer shot during the Las Vegas massacre passed away two days after attending his funeral.
Sheryl Stiles was on her way back from the funeral to her hotel room when she suffered a heart attack and fell down an escalator, Fox 5 Vegas reported.
Stiles was taken to a hospital and placed on life support but died two days later. The bereaved mother died of pulmonary arrest and acute cardio infarction, according to the Clark County Coroner.
Her family says she died of a broken heart.
“I talked to the chaplain of Metro,” Cecil Ralston, the woman’s cousin, said. “He told me she kept saying ‘Oh I want to stay, I want to be with Charleston,’ that she wanted to die.”
Stiles’ son, Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Officer Charleston Hartfield, was one of the 58 people killed during the Route 91 Harvest music festival shooting massacre. Hartfield, a married father of two, was off-duty when the shooting occurred.
“Just devastated by this,” Ralston said. “It’s unexpected.”
“She was on the escalator and she had a heart attack,” Ralston added. “She fell and sustained brain injuries.”
Lewis Stiles traveled to Las Vegas together with Stiles, his sister, to support her during the difficult time. Now he is dealing with losing her as well.
“I was sitting up in the room crying,” Lewis Stiles said. “We came to bury my nephew and then the next thing we know, I have to bury my sister.”
Lewis Stiles stayed with his cousin Ralston while the rest of the family checked into the South Point Hotel Casino and Spa.
More than 2,000 people attended Hartfield’s funeral on Friday, including family members, friends, members of the police and military. The services included a motorcade down Las Vegas strip.
“It was important because it was my sister’s son,” Lewis said. “We had a lot of family from Louisville that came.”
“My sister was very outgoing,” Lewis added. “She was a lively person who had a lot of good friends that enjoyed her company.”
About a year ago. Hartfield started keeping a computer file with instruction for his funeral.
“If you’re reading this, then I’ve been called home,” the file found by his wife Veronica said.
“Nothing I type will make this any easier, so I will get to the facts. My largest request: Please do not allow anyone to wear black. Black is totally depressing and I don’t want anyone expressing their sorrow over my passing,” Hartfield wrote.
The officer asked for songs by Nina Simone and Johnny Cash to be played during his funeral service.
“I would like for everyone to enjoy themselves. And remember me for who I was. The truth only. None of that stuff about how great I was. Only real stories,” Hartfield wrote.
Clark County Sheriff Joe Lombardo said Hartfield was an 11-year veteran and a “remarkable officer” killed by “an unremarkable person.”
Meanwhile, Lewis Stiles is trying to get his sister’s remains back to Louisville. The man was planning to travel by bus, but his family started a GoFundMe page to get him on a plane instead.
