The final retweet from Nikki Delamotte’s Twitter account was related to firearm violence, an epidemic that she tragically became part of just days later.
That social media post was part of a larger thread on shootings: how the media covers shootings and how more of them could be prevented.
RELATED: Mother of cleveland.com reporter: 'No one should have ever hurt her'
Within two days of the post first appearing on Twitter, Ms. Delamotte — a member of the media who covered arts and culture for cleveland.com — became one of the Toledo area’s two most recent gun violence victims.
The Wood County Coroner’s Office on Tuesday said Ms. Delamotte, 30, died from multiple gunshot wounds and uncle Robert J. Delamotte 67, died from a single gunshot wound. The coroner’s comments came after Perrysburg Township police on Monday found Ms. Delamotte and Mr. Delamotte dead at a Friendly Village mobile home park residence. The residence is located just north of the Ohio Turnpike off of Oregon Road.
Township police along with the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation continue to investigate the deaths, but authorities have so far released little information about the case. Township police in a news release Tuesday confirmed the identities of Ms. Delamotte and Mr. Delamotte, but department officials did not provide any more information in response to multiple requests from The Blade.
An outpouring of social media messages from friends and co-workers of Ms. Delamotte followed Monday’s news from all corners. Those who knew and worked with Ms. Delamotte — a 2006 graduate of Springfield High School in Holland — spoke glowingly about her character and work ethic.
Cleveland.com life and culture editor Mike Norman said Ms. Delamotte barely needed an editor. He said she covered everything from restaurant openings to more serious issues of mental health and addiction within the food, music, and culture community in Cleveland.
Mr. Norman said it was an honor to be involved with her work, and called Ms. Delamotte one of the most beloved members of the staff.
“She really was one of the most soulful people ... and one of the most caring and loving reporters I ever met,” Mr. Norman said. “She cared more about other people than herself, and that really showed in her reporting and the kind of stories she loved to tell. She loved to tell the underdog story. She loved to tell the hidden story.”
Ms. Delamotte recently visited Perrysburg Township to find an uncle with whom she lost touch. After her parents divorced, she didn’t communicate much with her father’s side of the family.
She found her uncle walking along the road in October and talked with him. They planned to meet again Sunday.
Andrew Iler lived near Mr. Delamotte for eight months.
“He was a guy that kept to himself,” Mr. Iler said. “He never bothered anybody or anything like that. I helped him cut his grass, clean up, whatever he needed.”
Joanne Ullman, a Toledo resident, is Ms. Delamotte’s mother. She previously reported her daughter missing after Ms. Delamotte visited her uncle at the park.
Ms. Ullman requested a welfare check and told police she spotted her daughter’s car on the property with her wallet and phone inside.
“She’s beautiful and no one should have ever hurt her. And that’s all I’m going to say,” Ms. Ullman told The Blade.
In addition to graduating from Springfield High, she was involved in many school clubs and was chosen as the runner-up homecoming queen her senior year.
Her recently deceased grandmother, Greta Ullman, was a longtime member of First Unitarian Church of Toledo. The Rev. Tim Barger said the congregation is considering a memorial service for Ms. Delamotte and continues to support the family.
Ms. Delamotte moved from the Toledo area to attend Cleveland State University. She also worked at Allied Integrated Marketing in Cleveland before becoming a reporter.
Mr. Norman said Ms. Delamotte had a broad range of interests, but loved to write about the diversity of Cleveland’s culture scene. He said the last piece she published detailed La Plaza supermarket in the city, focusing on the store’s importance to the Mexican community.
Ms. Delamotte had a robust social media presence, and Mr. Norman said many people who never met her still felt like they knew her through Twitter and Facebook.
“I’ll just miss her laughter,” Mr. Norman said. “She would always listen to my stupid dad jokes and laugh. She would always listen to me brag about my daughters and be very supportive.
“She was one of those people who was everywhere in the community. She was a beloved figure in town.”
Cleveland.com reporter Troy Smith worked closely with Ms. Delamotte. He said she stood out from other journalists.
“It was always about the subject she was covering,” Mr. Smith said. “You might find others who insert themselves, but she was the total opposite. She always wanted the subject to be cool with what she was doing. She’s looking down at us and probably rolling her eyes at all the attention because that’s so not her.”
Mr. Smith said the cleveland.com staff is a tightly-knit bunch. He said he’ll miss her uniqueness and her character.
“She was a feminist, but she could hang out with the guys. She was a gentle soul, but wouldn’t let people push her around,” Mr. Smith said. “You could see that girl from Toledo in her.”
Ms. Delamotte was well-known in Cleveland’s arts and cultural community. She was a familiar face at places like the Cleveland Museum of Art, Beachland Ballroom, and Happy Dog.
Joseph Hughes first met Ms. Delamotte in 2011 when he was a speaker at Cleveland’s Weapons of Mass Creation art festival. The two routinely bumped into each other for years around town as Ms. Delamotte wrote stories.
“She was endlessly curious and kind at the same time,” Mr. Hughes said. “She genuinely cared about her craft, her subjects, her city. She did everything with unflinching sincerity and integrity, and did it not for the recognition, but because she wanted to tell new stories and reflect the city back to itself.”
A GoFundMe has been set up to assist Ms. Delamotte’s family.
Blade news services contributed to this report.
First Published November 13, 2018, 3:14 p.m.
