“No justice for Justice”: Mother of a North Carolina marine killed by driver speaks out

PENDER COUNTY, NC (WWAY) — On June 28th, Tia Jones received word from a trooper that her daughter, First Lieutenant Justice Stewart, had been hit and killed by a driver while she was jogging the night before.

Nearly 100 days after the incident, Jones says she’ll never forget the day she found out her daughter was gone.

“That was the most devastating news I could have ever received.”

William Genens of Holly Ridge was behind the wheel of the truck that hit and killed Stewart.

Genens pleaded guilt Tuesday to involuntary manslaughter and reckless driving.

But prosecutors say there was not enough evidence to prove Genens was driving under the influence that night.

Jones says she doesn’t feel the sentence was enough, and that there was ‘no justice for Justice’.

“His decision impacted lives, many lives. And he’s also impacted future generations.”

Despite the tragedy and difficult days Jones continues to face, she says the legacy of her daughter will live on in her poetry, which Stewart had just published in a book in 2019.

“….If my eyes close for the final time, and every breathe has ceased. If my heart finally stops beating, and my spirit is released. And if life exists no longer, in this vessel that I’ve leased. I pray for all of the above, and above all, pray I’ve found peace….”