With tears rolling down her cheeks, Mary Allison recalled happier times as she looked over photos of her older sister, Sharon, who was clubbed to death last year in her Columbia House apartment.
She clutched two red roses, one of which represented Sharon Allison’s memory, as she spoke of her sister’s life and death.
The hardest part for her, she said, is that she will never have closure.
David James Barker, the man accused of killing 66-year-old Sharon Allison, died by suicide in July. He was facing a charge of second-degree murder for allegedly striking Allison in the head with a lamp and dumping her body in a recycling bin inside her apartment.
“I have so much anger here. I just want answers. When I read in the paper he killed himself, all I could do was cry because that doesn’t close nothing,” Mary Allison, 59, of Amboy said. “I have to forgive, and I hope I forgive, but that doesn’t mean I like it.”
Sharon Allison’s name was one of 76 read aloud during Monday’s annual ceremony for the National Day of Remembrance for Homicide Victims. Her sister came forward to collect a rose on her behalf, as well as a rose for a friend.
“I’m very thankful that the news, citizens and everyone involved in her case remember her. She’s not just a number, date of birth, date of death,” Mary Allison said.
Approximately 90 people gathered in the public hearings room at the Clark County Public Service Center. Some attendees said they thought the crowd was a bit smaller than in recent years.
Teri Kenning, speaking from experience, said that for families who recently have lost a loved one, it can be “too fresh, too hard” to attend.
There have been 13 victims of homicide in Clark County since the beginning of 2015.
Kenning, 58, started coming about two years after her son, Alfred, was killed by a drunk driver in 2006. It was at the ceremony that she met Fran Hammond whose daughter, Mary, also was killed in a drunk-driving crash in 2004.
“It’s a wonderful way to honor the family of victims and keep their memories alive,” Hammond, 68, said.
“It keeps it at the forefront of the prosecution and law enforcement officers,” her son, 42-year-old Paul Hammond, added.
Both families said the ceremony helps them know they aren’t grieving alone.
Victim advocate Amy Harlan read the names, one-by-one, which represent local homicide victims who have been killed since 2011. Of those, 18 names were of victims who died more than five years ago, such as Alfred Kenning and Mary Lynn Hammond, but were added to the ceremony at the family’s request.
“Those names, they represent parents, children, brothers, sisters, husbands, wives, partners, friends, aunts, uncles, nieces, nephews, cousins, you name it. Everyone has been touched,” Harlan said. “They were adventurers, confidants, leaders, horse-lovers, roller skaters, campers, teachers and so much more.”
Clark County Sheriff Chuck Atkins, the keynote speaker, said he’s been touched by many tragic events in his 37-year law enforcement career.
“And I will always have those memories and pictures in my head,” he told the crowd. “Having said that, I fully understand law enforcement’s responsibility, and I need others to always remember why we do what we do. It isn’t all about solving a crime; it’s all about helping the victims and giving the survivors the tools and information needed to deal with the aftermath in a way that brings them some peace.”
