JACKSON – It’s been less than a year since the Gioia family lost a son and brother in Michael, and now their healing has been hurt by someone desecrating his memorial.
Mikey was 16 when he died in a crash on October 8 just minutes from his home, at Westlake Court and East Veterans Highway. The family has since built a memorial to him there, to be a place where they can think about his sense of humor and his heart, instead of the tragedy that took him from them.
However, on August 6, between 9-9:30 p.m., someone vandalized the memorial.
“His wooden cross was ripped out of the ground and thrown, leaving the memorial damaged,” his mother Danielle said. “Michael tragically passed away on October 8, 2025, and this memorial is one of the few places our family and community have to honor his life.”
When The Jackson Times reached out to her the morning after the incident, she was cleaning the site. She said that whoever did it stepped on the lighting and decorations to get to the cross, pull it out of the ground, and throw it. It wound up pretty far away.
“I don’t think it was done to my son specifically,” she said. It seemed that the cross was targeted instead.
This could elevate it to a hate crime, she said.
There were people driving by those major roads, who could have seen something. There might also be security cameras. The incident took place between 9 and 9:30 p.m. and it’s likely that other people saw this.
They know that there was someone wearing a white skirt or shorts who was seen in the area at that time.
“As Michael’s mother, I am heartbroken,” she said. “Even one person seeing this story could provide the information needed to solve it.”
She is urging people who have information about the incident to contact police and her as well. She is listed by her name, Danielle Gioia on Facebook. On Instagram, she is @MGPathOfPositivity.
The suspect could just be someone who needs help, she said. The foundation that she started in her son’s name is designed to provide mental health assistance for people. If that’s the case, “we want to help them.”
Mikey had told his mom he wanted to become a therapist or counselor, because he was the type of person who listened to people and he wanted to help guide others through hard times. “He could sense when someone wasn’t okay,” Danielle said in an interview with this newspaper after he passed. “He didn’t just ask what was wrong; he really listened.”
Mikey had a quiet side, but his friends saw the funny, mischievous version who loved making everyone feel included, she said. He was the kind of friend who noticed when someone seemed down and would text out of nowhere: “Hey, you good?”
“He was that person for so many kids,” Danielle said. “A lot of teenagers deal with heavy stuff. Mikey wanted to help them through it.”
