foxfarmboxers
09-25-2009, 09:13 AM
Seeking an end to the anguish
Across the U.S. today, families who have lost loved ones to violence ask us to pay heed
By RENÉE C. LEE
HOUSTON CHRONICLE
Sept. 25, 2009, 6:45AM
The day before Thanksgiving in 1996, Kristen Lea Wilson stopped by the grocery store on her way from work to pick up some items for the family holiday dinner.
When she arrived at her southwest Houston apartment, she put away her groceries and then went to her bedroom to change clothes. That's when an intruder, waiting in the darkness, ambushed and strangled her.
Like many killings from years gone by, the crime has faded from the public's memory. But at least one day of the year we are asked not to forget these tragedies.
Today, nearly 13 years after her slaying, Wilson's family will join thousands of people across the country in observing National Day of Remembrance for Murder Victims.
In Houston, families who have lost loved ones to violence will display the victims' empty shoes at City Hall as part of an event sponsored by two local chapters of the national Parents of Murdered Children organization.
The day of observance, declared by Congress in 2007, not only honors victims but also provides support for family members and promotes awareness about violence. It's also an opportunity to bring attention to unsolved murder cases like Wilson's.
“The only way to solve a case is to keep it in the public eye,” said Nancy Ruhe, executive director of the National Parents of Murdered Children, the group based in Ohio that lobbied for the national day. “This gives families hope.”
Last year, 16,272 murders were reported nationwide, according to the FBI. The same records show that Houston had 294 murders in 2008.
Crime Stoppers of Houston this week highlighted five unsolved murder cold cases, including Wilson's, in recognition of the local observance.
‘I want to know why'
Kimberly Edwards has been waiting a long time for someone to come forward with information about the killing of Wilson, her younger sister.
“I want to know why this happened,” Edwards said.
Wilson, 29, had just started a secretarial business and was preparing to move to a safer neighborhood when she was killed Nov. 27, 1996.
Wilson's parents went to check on her the next day because she did not show up for Thanksgiving dinner at her grandmother's house and they could not reach her. They found her door unlocked and no signs of forced entry. They discovered her body, nude from the waist down.
Police believe Wilson fought her attacker, who may have raped her.
Houston police Detective C.P. “Abbey” Abbondandolo, who took over the case a few months after Wilson's death, described the slaying as “a nighmare scenario” because she was attacked in her home. He said it's a difficult case but he's optimistic he will solve it.
Fire set to cover up
Steve Tim Sanford Jr. was good to everybody and would share anything he owned, said his sister, Margienell Bailey. That's why she still can't understand what could have led to his brutal death on Dec. 28, 2007.
Sanford, 63, was assaulted in his home in the 1000 block of Junell in northwest Houston. The house was deliberately set on fire about 4:45 a.m. to cover up the crime, police said.
Firefighters found Sanford's body in a bedroom, and police later learned his car was missing.
Sanford died from blunt impact to the head with a skull fracture and brain injury. The secondary cause of death was smoke inhalation and thermal injury or burns, police said.
His body was so badly burned that it took months for authorities to identify him.
Sanford, who had retired a month earlier from a tool company, lived alone and rarely had visitors.
“I'm just baffled as to why they can't find anybody who did it,” Bailey said. “I just pray about it.”
A life cut short
Helen “Dawn” Williams, 25, was a half-year shy of earning her law degree from Texas Southern University in 1993. Her father, Isaac Henderson, said he was looking forward to her joining his practice.
But on Oct. 15, 1993, his daughter went missing. Williams was last seen that morning by her husband, Raphael Williams, as he left their apartment in Houston's Third Ward. That night he called family and friends and learned she had missed classes at TSU that day. He reported his wife missing the next morning.
Her body was found Nov. 11, 1993, in a shallow grave in Montgomery County. Her throat had been repeatedly slashed.
Investigators said Helen Williams was killed at her home. They also believe she knew the attacker. Nothing was reported missing from the Williamses' home, except the clothes she had been wearing and her purse.
“I feel, like most parents in this circumstance, deprived of watching her obtain her goals and ambitions to live her life,” Henderson said. “It's something that will never be replaced. But we cannot hate the person who did this, but we do want him to face justice.”
A road rage shooting
Eighteen-year-old Elizabeth Helms was two months pregnant, working on her GED and excited about getting married.
On Oct. 14, 2001, Helms, her father, her fiance and a family friend were returning home from a dinner celebrating her pregnancy. The foursome was riding in a pickup in southeast Houston.
Helms' fiance, who was driving, had been cut off by three cars that had been seen racing. At a traffic light at Blackhawk and Fuqua, Helms' fiance exchanged words with two men in one of three vehicles.
When Helms' fiance turned right onto Fuqua, gunfire from one of the cars struck the rear of the pickup. Helms was hit in the back of the head and died at the scene. The passengers in the other vehicles fled.
William Helms said his daughter wanted a March wedding. Her grandmother made a wedding dress for her. She was buried in it.
“She had her whole life in front of her,” he said.
No relatives
Howard Hurstak, 67, had recently met a woman and planned to ask her to marry him. He told friends he was going to buy a $10,000 engagement ring. Shortly after that, on Aug. 28, 2005, Hurstak was found dead in his west Houston home on Honey Hill, police said.
He had been stabbed multiple times.
His neighbors, concerned because they had not seen him in several days, went to his house and found his body.
Police said that based on the evidence, Hurstak probably knew the attacker.
Relatives could not be located.
renee.lee@chron.com
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/metropolitan/6636289.html
In memory of all the murder victims and their families, on this special day of remembrance.
Across the U.S. today, families who have lost loved ones to violence ask us to pay heed
By RENÉE C. LEE
HOUSTON CHRONICLE
Sept. 25, 2009, 6:45AM
The day before Thanksgiving in 1996, Kristen Lea Wilson stopped by the grocery store on her way from work to pick up some items for the family holiday dinner.
When she arrived at her southwest Houston apartment, she put away her groceries and then went to her bedroom to change clothes. That's when an intruder, waiting in the darkness, ambushed and strangled her.
Like many killings from years gone by, the crime has faded from the public's memory. But at least one day of the year we are asked not to forget these tragedies.
Today, nearly 13 years after her slaying, Wilson's family will join thousands of people across the country in observing National Day of Remembrance for Murder Victims.
In Houston, families who have lost loved ones to violence will display the victims' empty shoes at City Hall as part of an event sponsored by two local chapters of the national Parents of Murdered Children organization.
The day of observance, declared by Congress in 2007, not only honors victims but also provides support for family members and promotes awareness about violence. It's also an opportunity to bring attention to unsolved murder cases like Wilson's.
“The only way to solve a case is to keep it in the public eye,” said Nancy Ruhe, executive director of the National Parents of Murdered Children, the group based in Ohio that lobbied for the national day. “This gives families hope.”
Last year, 16,272 murders were reported nationwide, according to the FBI. The same records show that Houston had 294 murders in 2008.
Crime Stoppers of Houston this week highlighted five unsolved murder cold cases, including Wilson's, in recognition of the local observance.
‘I want to know why'
Kimberly Edwards has been waiting a long time for someone to come forward with information about the killing of Wilson, her younger sister.
“I want to know why this happened,” Edwards said.
Wilson, 29, had just started a secretarial business and was preparing to move to a safer neighborhood when she was killed Nov. 27, 1996.
Wilson's parents went to check on her the next day because she did not show up for Thanksgiving dinner at her grandmother's house and they could not reach her. They found her door unlocked and no signs of forced entry. They discovered her body, nude from the waist down.
Police believe Wilson fought her attacker, who may have raped her.
Houston police Detective C.P. “Abbey” Abbondandolo, who took over the case a few months after Wilson's death, described the slaying as “a nighmare scenario” because she was attacked in her home. He said it's a difficult case but he's optimistic he will solve it.
Fire set to cover up
Steve Tim Sanford Jr. was good to everybody and would share anything he owned, said his sister, Margienell Bailey. That's why she still can't understand what could have led to his brutal death on Dec. 28, 2007.
Sanford, 63, was assaulted in his home in the 1000 block of Junell in northwest Houston. The house was deliberately set on fire about 4:45 a.m. to cover up the crime, police said.
Firefighters found Sanford's body in a bedroom, and police later learned his car was missing.
Sanford died from blunt impact to the head with a skull fracture and brain injury. The secondary cause of death was smoke inhalation and thermal injury or burns, police said.
His body was so badly burned that it took months for authorities to identify him.
Sanford, who had retired a month earlier from a tool company, lived alone and rarely had visitors.
“I'm just baffled as to why they can't find anybody who did it,” Bailey said. “I just pray about it.”
A life cut short
Helen “Dawn” Williams, 25, was a half-year shy of earning her law degree from Texas Southern University in 1993. Her father, Isaac Henderson, said he was looking forward to her joining his practice.
But on Oct. 15, 1993, his daughter went missing. Williams was last seen that morning by her husband, Raphael Williams, as he left their apartment in Houston's Third Ward. That night he called family and friends and learned she had missed classes at TSU that day. He reported his wife missing the next morning.
Her body was found Nov. 11, 1993, in a shallow grave in Montgomery County. Her throat had been repeatedly slashed.
Investigators said Helen Williams was killed at her home. They also believe she knew the attacker. Nothing was reported missing from the Williamses' home, except the clothes she had been wearing and her purse.
“I feel, like most parents in this circumstance, deprived of watching her obtain her goals and ambitions to live her life,” Henderson said. “It's something that will never be replaced. But we cannot hate the person who did this, but we do want him to face justice.”
A road rage shooting
Eighteen-year-old Elizabeth Helms was two months pregnant, working on her GED and excited about getting married.
On Oct. 14, 2001, Helms, her father, her fiance and a family friend were returning home from a dinner celebrating her pregnancy. The foursome was riding in a pickup in southeast Houston.
Helms' fiance, who was driving, had been cut off by three cars that had been seen racing. At a traffic light at Blackhawk and Fuqua, Helms' fiance exchanged words with two men in one of three vehicles.
When Helms' fiance turned right onto Fuqua, gunfire from one of the cars struck the rear of the pickup. Helms was hit in the back of the head and died at the scene. The passengers in the other vehicles fled.
William Helms said his daughter wanted a March wedding. Her grandmother made a wedding dress for her. She was buried in it.
“She had her whole life in front of her,” he said.
No relatives
Howard Hurstak, 67, had recently met a woman and planned to ask her to marry him. He told friends he was going to buy a $10,000 engagement ring. Shortly after that, on Aug. 28, 2005, Hurstak was found dead in his west Houston home on Honey Hill, police said.
He had been stabbed multiple times.
His neighbors, concerned because they had not seen him in several days, went to his house and found his body.
Police said that based on the evidence, Hurstak probably knew the attacker.
Relatives could not be located.
renee.lee@chron.com
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/metropolitan/6636289.html
In memory of all the murder victims and their families, on this special day of remembrance.