Mom recalls daughter’s vibrant life

POLAND — Days before her death, Marissa Plakosh, 18, addressed a birthday card to her mother and left it propped against her night stand.

She attended church for one last time and donated some of her clothes to charity.

Now, three days after her death, friends and family are taking comfort in the belief that God had a plan for the Ohio State University freshman who loved sports, was voted class clown.

Police say the 2007 Poland Seminary High School graduate woke up early Saturday to find her brother visiting with a family friend. Then, at about 5:50 a.m., her mother, Jeanne Plakosh, was awakened by a gunshot.

She found her daughter slumped over in a chair, shot in the neck, in the family’s great room.

For more, see Tuesday’s Vindicator and Vindy.com