Nurse Renee Pagel made a remarkable sacrifice by donating a kidney to a stranger, mere days before her own life was tragically taken.

While she was still in the process of recuperating from the organ donation to the father of one of her nursing students, an intruder entered Renee’s home in Rockford, Michigan, and violently stabbed the 41-year-old mother of three to death on August 5, 2006, as reported by Dateline: Unforgettable.
This brutal act of violence sent ripples of shock through Renee’s close-knit circle of friends, yet it would require years of relentless effort from those who loved her to ensure that her murderer faced justice.

Collateral damage. It’s something I witness all the time especially when I’m sitting across from a person whose loved one was murdered and they’re somehow expected to just go on with their life, Correspondent Andrea Canning shared of what made the episode so unforgettable. Renee Pagel’s friends and daughter shared their stories with me, they talked about their fight for truth and justice, but in the end, this story is about Renee, a generous soul who touched the lives of everyone around her, even people she barely knew.