Every Mother’s Day, Pei Xia Chen says she receives a special gift from her late husband — her young daughter, Angelina Liu.

Angelina, now 8 years old, was born via in-vitro fertilization (IVF) about two and a half years after her father, NYPD Detective Wenjian Liu, was murdered in the line of duty.

Liu’s sperm was preserved immediately after his death.

Chen told the New York Post:

“She is truly my miracle child.”

She shared emotionally:

“Every time I look at her, I see a part of Wenjian still living.”

Wenjian Liu, 32, and his partner Rafael Ramos, 40, were shot and killed on December 20, 2014, while sitting in their patrol car in the Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood of Brooklyn.

The suspect was Ismaaiyl Abdullah Brinsley — who was previously wanted for shooting his ex-girlfriend in Baltimore.

After the attack, Brinsley committed suicide.

Chen said she and Liu had only been married for 3 months before the tragedy occurred.

During their seven years together, Liu always wanted to have children.

Chen recounted:

“Even before we got married, Wenjian always wanted to be a father.”

When she knew her husband would not survive, the first thing she thought was:

“I couldn't let his dream die with him.”

Chen said she was familiar with the IVF process and asked doctors to preserve her husband's sperm immediately.

That night, she said she dreamed of Liu dressed in white, handing her a baby wrapped in a white blanket.

According to Chen:

“He looked at me and said, ‘This is our daughter.’”

Dr. Peter Schlegel performed the sperm retrieval from Liu at the New York Medical Examiner's Office the following morning.

Currently, Angelina is in the 3rd grade at a Catholic school and enjoys:

  • swimming,

  • singing,

  • playing the piano,

  • and the clarinet.

Chen said her daughter wants to be a veterinarian when she grows up.

While holidays always bring back the pain of losing her husband, Chen says Angelina helps her get through it:

“The pain is lessened because I have Angelina.”

She calls her daughter her:

“greatest treasure”
and:
“the greatest gift God has given me.”

Chen now spends all her time raising her daughter and keeping her husband's memory alive within the family.