celeste peterson explained why her focus is here at home. >> you don't normally lose the most precious thing in your life. >> reporter: she is often surrounded by friends, people she loves referred to as her committee. >> somebody says no, no, no. it's okay. >> reporter: she needs those friends now more than ever. they first stepped up ten years ago when her only child was shot to death. erin was a well known figure, standout basketball player and top student. last year peterson faced another devastating loss, her husband died at age 57. >> i have never been alone. i am learning to be alone. >> reporter: they stood together back in 2009 along with one other family when they made the decision to file a wrongful death lawsuit against virginia tech questioning whether the university alerted students soon enough when the shooting began. >> i want my daughter back. that's all i want. just tell the truth. just lay all the cards on the table and tell us what happened. >> reporter: the petersons won but ruling was overturned by a higher court. still she important record. >> you don't have to g

. >> reporter: erin peterson was celeste and eric's only child. erin a freshman at virginia tech was one of th him. >> reporter: the deranged mentally ill student went to the same high school as erin where she was a star basketball player. >> she was a really happy kid. >> reporter: celeste and grafton's lives revolved around her. >> we were completely blown up, and we had to figure out how to put ourselves together. >> reporter: she and her husband briefly thought about suicide. they were brought back from despair from steadfast friends, especially cheryl lennox who refused to leave her side, even when there were no words. >> we would sit and say nothing without words for hours. >> reporter: shelby lennox and erin peterson remained close through high school, and so did their moms. >> i can call he the morning and i would say i'm broke down, come get me and she would say i'm right there. >> reporter: shelby's daughter was planning a wedding, and knew it had to include celeste and grafton. >> we wanted celeste to officiate. and we wanted grafton to

. >> now celeste and her late husband started the nonprofit organization the erin peterson fund which provides scholarships and mentoring for at risk students at westfield high school. >>> d.c. police searched for a suspect and a motive in a stabbing on capitol hill. police found the man suffering from a stab wound just after 2 p.m. officers were in the area headed to a crash when he was discovered unconscious near the intersection of maryland avenue and c streets near stanton park. a knife was recovered at the scene. anyone with information should contact d.c. police. >>> meantime prince george's county police are also investigating a stabbing, this one happening in forestville. officers were called to the 3300 block of springdale avenue just after 8:30 this morning where they found a woman suffering from stab wounds. she was taken to a nearby hospital but later di contact prince george's county. police. >>> an egyptian court clears a washington area woman of child abuse and human trafficking charges. she, her husband and six others were arrested in 2014 on charges of kidnapping and