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COLLEEN JENKINSA small crowd at the Historic Courthouse pin pink ribbons with names of victims on a wreath.
INVERNESS - Last fall, Ashley Carroll and Kelly Seiferheld sang One Voice at a funeral that came too soon. The body of Debra Sue Owens, Ashley's mother, had been found in September in the Withlacoochee State Forest. Bullets riddled the 41-year-old's body.
Monday, fighting back tears, the 14-year-old girls reprised the sweet song before an audience rife with grief. They were honoring victims of crime, an annual, local observance of the National Crime Victims' Rights Week.
Some of the dead had been gone 15 years. Other deaths, like Owens, were freshly minted in the minds of family members grieving their absence. Though Ashley and Kelly sang in front of many strangers Monday, they knew all shared a tragic bond.
"You just know that you're not the only one out there," Kelly said, her head on her close friend Ashley's shoulder. The girls wore matching red shirts emblazoned with silver hearts.
A solemn crowd of survivors gathered on the lawn of the Historic Courthouse on Monday, shaded by a small tent and cooled by a breeze. Families pinned pink ribbons bearing the names of victims on a wreath of yellow and purple flowers as the names were read out loud. The list, compiled by the Sheriff's Office and the State Attorney's Office, was long.
Dutch Schultz. Robyn Shumway. Lee Shumway. Sheri Hill. Shawn Hill. Samuel "Gator" Shetrone. Jodi Ray. Linda Varone. Jason Manor.
The Rev. Alan Jefferson of Crystal River United Methodist Church told the survivors that they had a right to grieve, to seek justice and to attain peace and hope. He encouraged them to find positive avenues to channel their pain, but said it also was okay to be angry.
"God understands," he said. "God lost a son too, the victim of a violent crime."
Carl Weber. Billy Sanders. Timothy Parker. Colleen Mills. Myra Bergeron. Bryan Willis. Jackie Howerton. Frank Kromke.
Sheriff Jeff Dawsy promised the families that his department was dedicated to assisting them. Law enforcement's job, he said, had evolved from merely nabbing bad guys.
"We have a much bigger mission than just arresting a person," he said. "We have a mission to help you through a very traumatic moment in your life."
Allison Decatrel. Robert August. Jessie Bollin. Keith Richardson. Donnie Bland. David Conway. Donna Kreiger. Ehrin Worley.
Assistant State Attorney William Catto said his office was committed to prosecuting cases and making sure those responsible for crimes were held accountable.
That's a promise Ashley and her family are waiting to see fulfilled. No one has been charged with Owens' death. Meanwhile, Ashley, who lives with her grandparents, often is afraid to go to the mall, to do the things teenagers usually do, she said.
Singing is one way to honor her mother, she said, but an arrest is something the bereft daughter longs for.
After the ceremony, Ashley said she's "just hoping this will all come to an end."
Pat Martin can empathize. Her mother, Gloria Ogles, was kidnapped and slain in 1988 at age 53. A 17-year-old boy was charged with the killing, but the hurt and shock from the violent act never has disappeared, Martin said.
Coping, she said, is the best a survivor can do. She does that by writing an annual tribute to her mother's life. She read her poem Monday.
It ended, "You are the true victim here, but I must live with this year to year."
- Colleen Jenkins can be reached at 860-7303 or cjenkins@sptimes.com