Local recorded deaths of neighbors experiencing homelessness tragically keep going up.
In 2016, it was 19; 2017, 27; 2018, 37; 2019, 39; 2020, 49; 2021, 57; and 2022, 98.
In 2023, 135 people experiencing homelessness died in Washoe County, according to official data, marking the eighth consecutive new high since these records were kept.
Of those 135 fatalities, nine were ruled as homicides, and another eight were listed as undetermined.
Behind each number is the story of a person – somebody’s child, someone’s brother or sister, and someone’s friend. One such woman was Amy Elaine Allen.
On July 20, 2023, at 5:23 p.m., Reno police responded to a 911 call of an apparent stabbing near the train tracks and East Commercial Row. Emergency personnel arrived on site, but Allen, 38, died at the scene.
According to the Washoe County Medical Examiner’s Office, Allen’s cause of death was listed as “sharp force injuries of the neck and chest.”
Amy Allen’s life was not just stolen from her, but on that evening she was also taken from her children, her mother and father, her siblings and her grandchild. No one has been arrested for her murder yet, and months later, her family is left still looking for answers.
Allen’s older sister, Christy Sherrill Jasperson, a registered nurse currently living in Missouri, recalled her time with her younger sister when they were children.
“I used to take care of her pretty much. [I’d] get her ready for school, like get her up in the morning, get her dressed … She didn't want nobody waking her up – but you know, she was my little baby doll,” Jasperson said. “So, I just kind of mothered her when she was younger. She was the youngest of eight at the time.”
Allen was born in Stockton, California, and grew up in Galt, California, before her family relocated to Galena, Kansas, when she was a child. Jasperson recalled how even from a young age Allen was exceptionally tenacious.
“She was super determined, like she wanted something, she was going to get it – even as a child,” Jasperson said. “I'm serious. You could not deter that child. Most children you could distract them or you could you know, ‘Hey, look at this.’ – No. If she wanted something, that was it. She was gonna go,” Jasperson remembered.
Jasperson talked about how brave her sister was even from a young age. “When she was young her favorite show was Freddy Krueger … Nothing scared her – she didn't have nightmares, she wasn't one of those people.”
Allen’s mother, Joyce Sherrill, said when Allen turned 11 though, she began “acting out,” and had difficulties with her mental health. She was eventually diagnosed with bipolar disorder. The road that followed was a challenging one, and Allen ended up in the foster care system and group homes.
Both Sherrill and Jasperson said she would have periods of mania and was prescribed medications to manage her condition.
“I feel like she self-medicated with the meth because the medications that she took for bipolar, the side effects were terrible,” Jasperson said. “It numbs you… but you have to take them in order to, to lead a normal life.”
Jasperson recalls there were times in Allen’s life when she stayed on her medication though, and found success.
One such time happened when she married her husband Doug Allen and lived in Granby, Missouri. During this time her sister’s husband, Doug helped make sure she took her medications and she became a stay at home mom for their two children.
“She loved taking care of things, like she had her own chickens, and she liked the whole cycle of life when it came to that,” said Jasperson. “She taught me about my chickens and brooding and all that stuff and she had a garden that she planted and she grew everything and loved it.”
Unfortunately though this bright time passed. Jasperson said Allen’s mental health declined and she fell back into addiction, ultimately getting a divorce and losing custody of her children. Jasperson said that at this point she thinks her sister lost hope.
Allen’s mother, Joyce Sherrill, said that during this time, Allen linked up with an ex-partner and travelled to California, and it was there that Allen began experiencing homelessness. According to her mother, the man who she trusted and went west with once beat her, knocking out her tooth. Allen was able to get away, and eventually found herself in Carson City and then later in Reno.
Despite living on the streets, Sherrill said her daughter would always call her on important days.
“She would always call me on birthdays, [on] Mother's Day. There was not one day that she did not forget to call me. She'd borrow somebody's phone and call me,” said Sherrill.
Both Jasperson and Sherrill said they would call and check up on Allen as often as they were able to, and multiple family members tried to bring her back to Missouri to get her clean and off the streets. But Allen was determined to stay in Reno.
Jasperson recalled her sister’s bravery. “She was never scared ... She still slept on the street, even though somebody held her up at gunpoint.”
On July 18, 2023, police conducted a sweep of people living in tents along the train tracks near Record Street. Encampments were cleared in the midst of a heat wave. According to Sherrill this is also the day that Allen was robbed at gunpoint, and her possessions including her wallet and ID were stolen.
Two days later she was stabbed to death.
“She was gone by the time EMS even got there – too much blood, but it's just hard to believe. Like who who does that? Amy had nothing. She had nothing. You know, she had nothing. She had no money because somebody already stole her wallet. She had no home. You know, she had a tent. That's what she had, she had a tent,” Jasperson said.
“Nobody was there to even help,” said Jasperson. “And Amy, knowing Amy…she's fearless. She would be okay with fighting somebody, like she had to, she was in group homes and stuff like that…So I know whoever was stabbing her. She was fighting, but I can't even imagine…But you know, it was too late. I know as a nurse…” said Jasperson.
No arrests have been made in connection with Allen’s homicide. The question of why her killer has yet to be caught is a question being asked by those who were closest to Allen. In a correspondence, Allen’s longtime childhood friend, Tiffany Gustafson wrote, “What upsets me the most is no one has been convicted or even tried for her murder. If she wasn’t a homeless drug addict do you think her killer would be behind bars?”
Jasperson and the family are still looking for answers and have been in contact with Reno PD’s Sean Peralta, who has been working on Allen’s case for months now.
Peralta says forensics results related to the Allen investigation only came back from the backed up Washoe County Crime Lab in January.
More recently, a source on background told an Our Town Reno reporter the DA decided not to prosecute in this case for now, citing insufficient evidence. The District Attorney’s office did not respond for comment.
In the meantime, Allen’s family is waiting for justice for their daughter, sister, mother, and friend.
“She loved God and she was a good person and she didn't deserve to die in such a way,” Gustafson said. “I truly believe if there is a heaven that she's in it because she was a very gentle person. She was very kind. She would have given you the shirt off her back. She just suffered so much [from] mental health.”