Survivor: What Happened to Survivor 48’s Joe Hunter’s Sister Joanna Hunter? He competed on “Survivor” to honor his late sister
Survivor 48 viewers were so moved by contestant Joe Hunter’s heartbreaking revelation about his sister’s death due to domestic violence. In Touch takes a closer look at what happened to Joanna Hunter and how Joe helped create a new law following her tragic passing.
On a beach in Fiji competing on “Survivor,” the reality show that, like “48 Hours,” airs on CBS, Joe Hunter’s grief over the death of his sister Joanna came out in full force.
JOE HUNTER (“Survivor” season 48): I miss you so much. I just miss you so much.
What Happened to Joe Hunter’s Sister Joanna Hunter?
Joe revealed to fellow castaways Shauhin Davari and Kyle Fraser that his sister died and was an alleged victim of domestic violence, admitting that he felt like he failed as a big brother in his job to protect her in the Survivor.
What the firefighter didn’t share was that his sister’s death on October 6, 2011, was ruled a suicide after a brief investigation by Solano County, California law enforcement, even though her husband, Mark Wayne Lewis, had a history of domestic violence. No autopsy was performed on Joanna.
Authorities reopened an investigation into Joanna’s death after the former pastor pleaded no contest to arson and stalking involving an ex-girlfriend in January 2015, on the third day of his trial.
The following month, Lewis was sentenced to eight years in state prison, although no charges were ever brought in Joanna’s death.
Joe Hunter’s Family Suspected Joanna’s Husband Was Responsible for Her Death
“We feel and have felt that he’s responsible for Joanna’s death,” Joe’s mom, Patricia Hunter, told Sacramento TV station ABC10 following Lewis’ sentencing on unrelated charges.
“She was leaving him, and he couldn’t let that happen,” she alleged, adding that Joanna had previously left Lewis before.
The outlet cited a coroner’s report that Joanna was found hanging by the belt of her terrycloth robe in her closet, with her “partially suspended feet touching the floor.” The station reported that a handwritten note reading, “take care of the dogs and Jerri” was considered by the coroner to be a suicide note.
Joe Hunter Helped Get a Law Passed in His Sister’s Name
Joe’s family sought justice in his sister’s case. California Governor Gavin Newsom signed Joanna’s Law in September 2024, after the bill passed both the state senate and assembly.
The law became the “first statute in the country to set standards for addressing and investigating suspicious death cases where women die after a prior history of domestic violence,” according to Alliance for Hope International, which helped write the bill.
Joanna’s Law also gave family members the right to death records of their lost loved ones “when there is a prior history of domestic violence, recognizes family members in suspicious death cases as survivors of crime deserving of victim services and support, and adds apparent suicides and apparent accidental deaths with a history of prior domestic violence as deserving of special consideration for autopsies by medical examiners and coroners.”
Joe Hunter Joined ‘Survivor’ in Honor of His Sister
The Vacaville, California, resident explained his sister was the one who pushed him to go on the show in interviews leading up to the season’s premiere.
“She watched from the first season of Survivor. And she actually wanted us to both try out for this. And to be honest, I didn’t think we could. And I kind of just brushed it off and said there’s no way we could. And unfortunately, we lost her pretty quickly,” Joe told Parade in a February 7, 2025, interview.
“And I look back on that, and it took me years to really recover from that. And I said, ‘You know what I’m gonna do for my sister? This is something she always wanted to do. I never had the courage to do it. But this is part of the healing process,’” he explained. “This is for Joanna. And I’m gonna be out here as Joanna’s voice. And I think she’d be proud so far.”
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