CALIFORNIA CITY, Calif. (KGET) — Today marks 10 years since the murder of 23-year-old Deverrie Schiller.
Her mother, Debi Fones, wearing a mask following a small biopsy on her throat, plans to remember her daughter in a unique way.
“I saw the wind phone, and I thought that was such an amazing idea,” Fones said.
Where Schiller’s body once laid, a wind phone stands.
It’s a disconnected phone to help those grieving, connect with their loved ones. She hopes whoever uses it can find solace.
Man arrested after dog attack leads to child’s death in California City
“Call up your loved ones in heaven and say the things you haven’t said, or say goodbye, or tell them you love them,” Fones said. “The wind takes it up to them.”
It’s a concept that originated in Japan in 2010, after a man built an unconnected phone booth to cope with the death of his cousin.
A coping device that allows those grieving to talk with their loved ones, even though no response will ever come.
“Anybody can use it, and you can talk to whoever’s up there, whoever you miss,” Fones said. “Hopefully it helps.”
Fones said there are fewer than one thousand wind phones worldwide, and the closest one to Kern County is in Joshua Tree.
Now the closest one is in California City’s Central Park, off of Heather Avenue on the northwest side of the park, in a quiet, fenced off area where Schiller’s body was found.
It’s a loss few can relate to and for Fones, few can help with.
“I have more mom friends, and that’s moms who have lost kids, then regular friends,” she said. “Because they just get it.”
Schiller’s case is among other cold cases in California City that remain unsolved due to a lack of funding from the local police department. Fones says she wants to petition for reinforcements this year.
“As soon as this anniversary passes, I’m going to start petitioning the FBI, the DOJ and departments within those to come out and help with us, because this is ridiculous,” she said.
Still, Fones, as she has done every year since her daughter’s passing, continues to remember her in new ways to not only help her, but hopefully others as well.
“I think she’d like what I do now, I think she would approve of it.”
Copyright 2026 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KGET 17 News.