Justice for all

Two of our neighbors were murdered over the Christmas break. The details of the case are not particularly important–suffice it to say a husband and a son were killed over money. The family that suffered this enormous loss came to the United States after Hurricane Mitch destroyed their Honduran village. They came here seeking a better life for their children. Even before this tragedy, their better life was proving to be elusive. The jobs for house painters were becoming harder to find. The family made a hard choice and were planning their return to Honduras this spring. Instead, the bodies of their family members have been flown to Honduras for burial.

About three weeks later, in the same county, two police officers were murdered at their off-duty job. Two more families were facing a horrific loss. Each officer left wives and four children behind. The challenges for all of these families facing the loss of family members are similar yet different. What is a major difference, you ask?

The men who killed the police officers were caught within hours. Dedicated police work coupled with the help of the community and intense media coverage helped law enforcement find the three men involved with the crime. The killers in the case of the Honduran family are still at large even though the media reported the family might be familiar with the perpetrators. Law enforcement in our county has reached out to the immigrant community to encourage better relations. The best way to improve community relations is a relentless search for the killers who destroyed the lives of this hard working family. Call a press conference to say the loss of this family is tragic and every possible resource is being used to find the killers. Tell the media who is being sought.

The son who was killed attended the same school as our oldest daughter. We are working on some events to help raise money for the family as they struggle to cope with the loss as well as meet their financial obligations without the main breadwinner. The community has banded together and continues to find ways to support this family. Nothing will bring back the dead but knowing the killers have been caught and will be punished would go a long way to helping this family heal.