The lives upended around a $20 cheeseburger

A cash-strapped rancher, a virus-stricken meatpacker, an underpaid chef, a hungry engineer: The journey of a single burger during a pandemic

7.7.20

He was sexually abusing
underage girls. Then, police
said, one of them killed him.

Now Chrystul Kizer, who was 16 when she met Randy Volar, is accused of murdering her alleged sex trafficker.​
She faces life in prison.

12.17.19

A black principal, four white teens
and the ‘senior prank’ that
became a hate crime

7.9.19

'Why did you do this?'

His brother gunned down 17 people.
​But he's the only family Zach Cruz has left.

1.25.19

‘I would rather
not be alone.’

Behind their anger, students who survived the Parkland shooting are still teens struggling with trauma.

2.20.18

An unhealthy contradiction

They are poor, sick and voted for Trump. What will happen to them without Obamacare?

3.11.17

13, right now

This is what it's like to grow up in the
​age of likes, lols and longing

5.25.16

The boy on the bridge

A 12-year-old boy tried to kill himself, police say.
Instead, he killed someone else. 

12.13.18

A Wrenching Dilemma

Across the country, decades’ worth of rape kits are finally being tested, but no one can agree on what to do next. ​

2.20.18

She and her twin were inseparable. Then a gunman tore the 15-year-olds apart.​

8.8.19

A Chevy Chase dog park divides the rich and powerful​

Everyone knows there’s a problem with Chubbs.

7.28.19

The Waffle House

A bittersweet end for a community staple

10.22.13

​for checking out my work. 


​

By way of Akron, Ohio and Indiana University, I'm a reporter for The Washington Post. 

My latest stories

Twitter: @mjcontrera // mjessicacontrera@gmail.com

Photos from top left:

Evelyn Hockstein for The Washington Post

Sarah L. Voisin of The Washington Post

​Will Newton for The Washington Post 

Broward County Sheriff

Jonathan Newton of The Washington Post

Bonnie Jo Mount of The Washington Post

Victoria Milko for The Washington Post

Michael Williamson of The Washington Post 

Adam Ewing for The Washington Post

Dustin Franz for The Washington Post

Michael Robinson Chavez of The Washington Post​

Bill O’Leary of The Washington Post

Anna Powell Teeter, entrepreneur extraordinaire  for The Indiana Daily Student