Vanessa Diaz-Waincroft was the mother to Sara Waincroft and wife to Gabriel Waincroft. She was shot dead in her home while her daughter Sara was at a sleepover. It was later discovered that her daughter is Chin Ho Kelly's niece through his marriage to Vanessa's sister in law, Malia Waincroft. It is revealed she was killed by Jimmy Brigante; a Yakuza hitman, on orders of Michelle Shioma, who wanted Vanessa to reveal Gabriel's location. However she managed to escape Brigante and ran to her bedroom, where she activated a panic button and grabbed a gun that she kept, but he killed her before she could use it.