her older sister married a u.s. navy sailor and moved to america in 1985. brought then 16-year-old gerfa with her, hoping to give her a chance at a better life. >> she was so excited about the opportunity. i remember she worked at little caesar's pizza and that was the greatest thing, to get a job. >> reporter: she had a son, josh, went back to community college to improve herself. and there she met a german immigrant named heiko. and from then on that was it. they were a family. she become a lab technician, heiko a maintenance man. they bought a house in a leafy neighborhood of lynchburg, virginia and had kevin. and the immigrants' son became an all-american kid. he was 14 that summer of 2011. smart, studious, and looking forward to the start of high school in the fall. >> he's this normal american kid who likes pizza and hot dogs and burgers, hang out with his friends, play video games, ride on his skateboard.