Yolanda Panek

Background Yolanda Evette Panek was born June 24, 1974, in Portland, Oregon. Panek was an only child. and being voted "most inspirational." The two had a tempestuous relationship, with Panek filing a restraining order, claiming Al-Wadud was physically abusive and had tried to strangle her.

Disappearance On July 13, 1995, Panek checked into a second-floor room at the Capri Motel with her 2-year-old son in the 1500 block of Northeast 83rd Street in Portland. At approximately 7:00 a.m. on July 14, Panek's 1994 Dodge Spirit was discovered abandoned near a Greyhound bus station, locked, with her son inside, alive. where he was arrested by authorities on July 20 and extradited to Oregon. The prosecution contested that Al-Wadud murdered Panek over her unwillingness to raise their son in the Muslim faith, as well as a fear that she had aborted another pregnancy without his knowledge. The jury deliberated for only one hour before returning a guilty verdict.

Panek's name is included on the Parents of Murdered Children Memorial, dedicated in 2013.

In commemoration of the 20th anniversary of the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) in 2014, the Obama Administration published a report which included numerous programs supported by the VAWA, including the Yolanda Project, a shelter-based program established in 2014 and affiliated with the YWCA of Portland.