Gomez, 26, of Fort Dodge, died in August 2017. Her body was found in a ditch along a gravel road outside of Clare in rural Webster County.

“We have cried together,” Gomez’s grandmother, Jacqui McCollum, of Fort Dodge, said in a prepared statement. “We have cried alone. We have thought of every possible thing that could have brought us to today.”

On Thursday, the family was able to get at least some closure when Mackenzie Knigge, 27, of Clare, accepted a plea deal and pleaded guilty to attempted murder in connection to the death of Gomez.

Prosecutors had alleged that Knigge, along with Phillip Williams, 26, of Lafayette, Indiana, killed Gomez on Aug. 5, 2017.

-Submitted photo
Jessica Gomez is pictured here as a high school senior.

Williams had previously pleaded guilty to attempted murder and abuse of a human corpse in the case and he is now serving a 30-year prison sentence.

The outcomes weren’t exactly what Gomez’s family members had hoped for, but most are accepting of the result.

“Today Mackenzie admitted to some horrible things that she assisted with regarding the death of Jessica,” McCollum said. “This was not the outcome that we wanted to hear. It is the best outcome we could hope for due to a lot of information that was not made public.”

She added, “We as a family decided the plea bargain was better than the remote possibility that she could walk out of the courthouse as free as we are.”

McCollum is not Gomez’s biological grandmother. But she is Gomez’s step-grandmother and was her legal guardian until she was 18.

She said both of Gomez’s parents are deceased.

McCollum appreciated the efforts of the Webster County attorney’s office in the case.

“The county attorney’s office and attorney from attorney general’s office did an absolutely fantastic job of trying to put this case together with the information that was there and kept us informed as much as they possibly could along the way,” she said. “I think Ryan (Baldridge, first assistant Webster County attorney) and his office did an awesome job. They were ready to go for a full-fledged trial.”

A cousin of Gomez, William Ebner, of Fort Dodge, was not pleased with the plea bargain.

“Two people are going to get a plea bargain,” Ebner said. “It doesn’t make sense to me. I am not happy about it.”

He said he doesn’t believe the punishment fits the crime.

“I’ve never heard of this,” he said. “Two suspects and no one gets a murder charge. This is too light.”

Ebner added, “What we have said from day one is ‘justice for Jess.’ This isn’t it.”

Gomez’s grandpa, David McCollum, said the events of the case have changed his philosophy on the death penalty.

“I never used to be for the death penalty, but I am now,” he said. “I’ve seen enough.”

But David McCollum said serving some time is better than no time.

“Better to see her get a little than walk out the door with us,” he said.

Gomez’s brother, Shane Halbur, of Fort Dodge, said family get-togethers will never be the same without Gomez.

“Nothing we do,” he said. “It’s not a family without Jess.”

Gomez’s friend, Audrey Douglas, of Fort Dodge, agreed.

“She always brought her own little spark,” Douglas said.

Ebner added, “She brought fun.”

Gomez’s brother, Shawn Halbur, of Iowa City, added in a written statement, “After 2 long years and many trial dates moved, my family may now have closure and peace as we are now done with trials. Although the trials did not go as we planned, I am certainly grateful that there is some justice being served. There are many things that need answered. Thanks for all the supportiveness that was given by all.”

The family is continuing to try and move forward in their lives without Gomez.

“We have kept everything in for two years to go through a trial like this,” Shane Halbur said. “It’s hard not to speak about what’s going on in your personal life. No, she’s not here with us, but in life we have to go on with whatever happens.”