UNION COUNTY, N.C. — Investigators returned to the scene of a deadly fire in Weddington where they found a former Union County prosecutor dead Monday.
[ Related: Former Union Co. assistant district attorney dies in house fire ]
Authorities identified the victim as Anne Reeves. Reeves had served as the assistant district attorney for Union County, as well as legal counsel for the city of Monroe’s Police Department. She was also a private practice attorney.
"Anne was one of those people that you see her and she would be happy and she would be a good person to work with as a DA. I liked her a lot," Defense Attorney Richard Farris said.
The family of Kilah Davenport said they'd grown to love Reeves.
As an ADA, Reeves pushed for justice when Kilah's stepfather was accused and ultimately convicted of abusing her and causing her death.
Reeves was with the family when he was sentenced and as they pushed for tougher child abuse laws.
"She loved Kilah and it affected her very deeply," Leslie Davenport, Kilah's grandmother, said.
Davenport said Reeves was like family and her death, as well as seeing her home gutted by fire, was too much to bear.
"I paused it and re-wound it, and my heart is just broken," Davenport said.
Friends and fellow attorneys described Reeves as an empathetic and hardworking attorney and friend.
"Losing someone like Anne would be tough anyway, having someone who knows how to take the long view, it makes the system work," Farris said.
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