Durham Reporter

The stabbing death of a mental health nurse practitioner has her family and the State Nurses Association calling for more protection for nurses on the job.

June Onkundi was working at the Freedom House Recovery Center, where health professionals provide treatment for people struggling with mental health or addiction issues, when she was killed by a patient this week.

She leaves four children under the age of 16, a grieving husband and a devastated extended family who wants to keep her memory alive.

"June was a loving mother, a devoted wife, a hardworking individual, who had a passion for taking care of the under-served population, which is mental health,” her brother-in-law Andrew Nyabwari told WRAL.

Onkundi moved to the U.S. from Kenya when she was 19. Since then, she was living the American dream — putting herself through school, buying a home, getting married and raising a family.

"She felt it was actually her calling,” Onditi Nunda, another relative, said. “It was informed both by her faith and background in serving this doubly under-served community."

Onkundi started her job at Freedom House about three months ago, though she has been a nurse for years.

The man charged in her murder — James Gomes — has a history of attacking women, so the family and others would like to know why more protection wasn't in place.

"He is somebody with a very extensive criminal history. Why was he out?” Nyabwari asked. “I feel like the system let us known. The system let June down." 

Nunda agreed, saying workplace safety in such cases needs to be addressed.

The North Carolina Nurses Association stands behind the family in calling for more protection for nurses.

"June died from circumstances that could have been avoided,” Nyabwari said.