Wendell woman grateful to be alive after shooting

Today, she is grateful to be doing both.

"The bullet went through my heart and though my spine," she said. "They didn't think I would be able to walk, talk or feed myself."

Taylor, 33, was shot in the face and chest in April 2014 while inside her parents’ eastern Wake County home. After the shooter’s gun jammed, she was then beaten with the butt of the pistol, investigators said.

Her parents, Anglia and Sylvester Taylor, were shot and killed during the incident.

LaTonya Taylor’s estranged husband, Nathan Holden, 32, was arrested and charged with the assault and killings. He is currently awaiting trial.

"I was just scared, mostly for my kids," she said. "I was just trying to protect them."

Investigators said the couple's three children hid in a closet.

LaTonya Taylor was in a coma for a week. When she woke up, she learned her parents were dead.

"I was determined to get better so I could go to their funeral," she said.

Taylor's brothers, Marktontio and Sylvester Taylor, said they instantly rallied around their sister.

"I asked God what am I supposed to do with this information and how am I supposed to respond," Sylvester Taylor said.

LaTonya says part of the healing process is sharing memories of her parents.

"She was always smiling. She was very, very funny," she said of her mother.

"He was my dad, but he was like my best friend," Marktontio Taylor said.

In November, the family will have to re-live their loss during Holden's trial.

Holden could face the death penalty if convicted.

"My dad wasn't the type of man to shrink back from anything or anyone," Marktontio Taylor said. "I know he would want us to face this with courage."

The family said while it will be difficult, they will be there every step of the way.

"Out of darkness love can rise up out of this," Sylvester Taylor said. "Goodness can rise up out of this."

"I miss my parents every single day, but it's my children I'm fighting for," LaTonya Taylor said.