Post by sclcookie on Jun 2, 2006 1:22:22 GMT -5
Guilty plea brings peace to families----Relatives of 8 slain in Peoria
start to feel closure after killing spree
Rev. Timothy Criss and law-enforcement authorities told Charles and Beola
Walls more than a year ago that they were certain their daughter Tamara
was a victim of serial killer Larry Bright, even though all authorities
were able to recover was a small piece of her jaw.
The family long ago came to accept that Tamara would never return, but her
parents couldn't come around to holding a funeral for her, said Criss.
On Wednesday, the day after Bright admitted in court that he killed Walls
and six other women as well as caused the drug-induced homicide of another
prostitute in exchange for a life term in prison, Charles Walls called the
pastor and said it was finally time to say goodbye, Criss said.
"It's not completely satisfying. We all still have the lumps in our
throats and heavy hearts," Criss said. "But finally Tamara's family and
the other women's families in the community can start having closure."
The plea also appeared to set the course for the community to mend
long-festering wounds.
From the time the victims, all of them black and with histories of drug
abuse and prostitution, disappeared or were found dead on deserted country
roads, the perception among many in the Downstate African-American
community was that police had little interest in solving the murders of
women living on the fringes.
In heated meetings during the 15-month killing spree, some members of the
community accused law-enforcement officials of dragging their feet.
Activists said police would have been more motivated to catch the killer
if the victims were white.
Kevin Lyons, the Peoria County state's attorney, said the early days of
the investigation were difficult because residents wanted answers that
police just didn't have.
"The situation was suffused with racial and culture stress," Lyons said.
"The lifestyles of these women made it extremely difficult to gather
evidence about their whereabouts. The white community in Peoria reacted
with interest, but they didn't seem to feel in danger. The black
community--particularly women of a certain age and lifestyle--were
wondering if they were safe to walk out their doors."
But the anger subsided after Bright was named as the serial killer suspect
in January 2005 and subsequent police outreach efforts since.
The police's big break came from a prostitute who told them that Bright
had threatened her with a knife at the shack where he lived behind his
mother's home in Peoria. Police later found several bone fragments on the
property that they believe were from at least 4 of his victims.
Bright was charged in three of the deaths before accepting the plea
agreement to escape the death penalty, but he confessed to all 8 of the
killings soon after being arrested. Bright led authorities to about a
half-dozen sites where he told them he dumped some of his victims' remains
after incinerating their bodies in his mother's back yard.
Most of the fragments, however, are so badly charred that DNA tests failed
to positively identify to whom they belong.
"From the beginning, we said we weren't going to be moved by political
pressure or racial pressure," said Peoria County Sheriff Michael McCoy.
"We said we'd do it the right way, and we did. I think that now that it's
all over the majority of African-Americans know that we were doing the
right thing."
Lyons said he decided to forgo pursuing the death penalty because the plea
agreement offered the best opportunity for the women's families to reach
finality.
An "overwhelming majority" of the families agreed that sending Bright to
prison for life was better than dealing with the arduous trial and appeals
process that would follow if Lyons sought the death penalty, the
prosecutor said.
Criss, who started off as a critic of the Sheriff's Department when the
killing spree started and later served as an unofficial liaison between
the families and law-enforcement authorities, confirmed most of the
families agreed that the plea was the best route to go.
Kevin Armstrong, whose stepsister Linda Neal was among Bright's victims
during his stretch of murders from July 2003 to November 2004, said the
family debated but in the end decided it wasn't worth the anguish.
On Wednesday, Armstrong sat with his stepfather, Harrison Neal, and his
mother, Jean Neal, at the family's dining room table and recalled the
emotional roller coaster the family has ridden since his stepsister was
killed and Bright was arrested.
Harrison Neal said his daughter is always on the top of his mind, and he
finds himself mistaking strangers for her. Sometimes, Neal said, he
excitedly calls out her name to some of them, only to be reminded that she
is dead.
Jean, who said Linda Neal loved her as if she were her biological mother,
finds herself talking to a portrait of Neal hung up among other pictures
in the family living room.
"I talk to her and ask her what she is going to be up today," she said. "I
keep having the same conversations we always had. I am not crazy, but it
helps me feel better."
Armstrong said the family feels better knowing that Bright, 39, will spend
the rest of his life behind bars. Bright is scheduled to be transferred to
the Joliet Correctional Center on Thursday to start his sentence.
But the court proceedings, which amounted to a reading of charges in which
Bright affirmed that he strangled seven of the women and offered enough
cocaine to cause the death of an eighth, left the family feeling a bit
hollow, Armstrong said. Bright's attorney also read a short statement
apologizing for the "grief and heartache" he caused.
"We know it won't bring Linda back, but we were hoping that he would at
least apologize himself," Armstrong said. "It wasn't very satisfying at
all."
The daughters of Brenda Erving, one of Bright's victims, grudgingly
accepted the prosecutor's decision to forgo the death penalty. Carmea
Erving, 27, said that she regrets that Bright won't face trial, because
she has so many questions about her mother's death that will likely remain
unanswered.
"We'll never know why," Erving said.
"Why did he pick my mother to kill? Why did he ever pick any of those
women?"
(source: Chicago Tribune)
start to feel closure after killing spree
Rev. Timothy Criss and law-enforcement authorities told Charles and Beola
Walls more than a year ago that they were certain their daughter Tamara
was a victim of serial killer Larry Bright, even though all authorities
were able to recover was a small piece of her jaw.
The family long ago came to accept that Tamara would never return, but her
parents couldn't come around to holding a funeral for her, said Criss.
On Wednesday, the day after Bright admitted in court that he killed Walls
and six other women as well as caused the drug-induced homicide of another
prostitute in exchange for a life term in prison, Charles Walls called the
pastor and said it was finally time to say goodbye, Criss said.
"It's not completely satisfying. We all still have the lumps in our
throats and heavy hearts," Criss said. "But finally Tamara's family and
the other women's families in the community can start having closure."
The plea also appeared to set the course for the community to mend
long-festering wounds.
From the time the victims, all of them black and with histories of drug
abuse and prostitution, disappeared or were found dead on deserted country
roads, the perception among many in the Downstate African-American
community was that police had little interest in solving the murders of
women living on the fringes.
In heated meetings during the 15-month killing spree, some members of the
community accused law-enforcement officials of dragging their feet.
Activists said police would have been more motivated to catch the killer
if the victims were white.
Kevin Lyons, the Peoria County state's attorney, said the early days of
the investigation were difficult because residents wanted answers that
police just didn't have.
"The situation was suffused with racial and culture stress," Lyons said.
"The lifestyles of these women made it extremely difficult to gather
evidence about their whereabouts. The white community in Peoria reacted
with interest, but they didn't seem to feel in danger. The black
community--particularly women of a certain age and lifestyle--were
wondering if they were safe to walk out their doors."
But the anger subsided after Bright was named as the serial killer suspect
in January 2005 and subsequent police outreach efforts since.
The police's big break came from a prostitute who told them that Bright
had threatened her with a knife at the shack where he lived behind his
mother's home in Peoria. Police later found several bone fragments on the
property that they believe were from at least 4 of his victims.
Bright was charged in three of the deaths before accepting the plea
agreement to escape the death penalty, but he confessed to all 8 of the
killings soon after being arrested. Bright led authorities to about a
half-dozen sites where he told them he dumped some of his victims' remains
after incinerating their bodies in his mother's back yard.
Most of the fragments, however, are so badly charred that DNA tests failed
to positively identify to whom they belong.
"From the beginning, we said we weren't going to be moved by political
pressure or racial pressure," said Peoria County Sheriff Michael McCoy.
"We said we'd do it the right way, and we did. I think that now that it's
all over the majority of African-Americans know that we were doing the
right thing."
Lyons said he decided to forgo pursuing the death penalty because the plea
agreement offered the best opportunity for the women's families to reach
finality.
An "overwhelming majority" of the families agreed that sending Bright to
prison for life was better than dealing with the arduous trial and appeals
process that would follow if Lyons sought the death penalty, the
prosecutor said.
Criss, who started off as a critic of the Sheriff's Department when the
killing spree started and later served as an unofficial liaison between
the families and law-enforcement authorities, confirmed most of the
families agreed that the plea was the best route to go.
Kevin Armstrong, whose stepsister Linda Neal was among Bright's victims
during his stretch of murders from July 2003 to November 2004, said the
family debated but in the end decided it wasn't worth the anguish.
On Wednesday, Armstrong sat with his stepfather, Harrison Neal, and his
mother, Jean Neal, at the family's dining room table and recalled the
emotional roller coaster the family has ridden since his stepsister was
killed and Bright was arrested.
Harrison Neal said his daughter is always on the top of his mind, and he
finds himself mistaking strangers for her. Sometimes, Neal said, he
excitedly calls out her name to some of them, only to be reminded that she
is dead.
Jean, who said Linda Neal loved her as if she were her biological mother,
finds herself talking to a portrait of Neal hung up among other pictures
in the family living room.
"I talk to her and ask her what she is going to be up today," she said. "I
keep having the same conversations we always had. I am not crazy, but it
helps me feel better."
Armstrong said the family feels better knowing that Bright, 39, will spend
the rest of his life behind bars. Bright is scheduled to be transferred to
the Joliet Correctional Center on Thursday to start his sentence.
But the court proceedings, which amounted to a reading of charges in which
Bright affirmed that he strangled seven of the women and offered enough
cocaine to cause the death of an eighth, left the family feeling a bit
hollow, Armstrong said. Bright's attorney also read a short statement
apologizing for the "grief and heartache" he caused.
"We know it won't bring Linda back, but we were hoping that he would at
least apologize himself," Armstrong said. "It wasn't very satisfying at
all."
The daughters of Brenda Erving, one of Bright's victims, grudgingly
accepted the prosecutor's decision to forgo the death penalty. Carmea
Erving, 27, said that she regrets that Bright won't face trial, because
she has so many questions about her mother's death that will likely remain
unanswered.
"We'll never know why," Erving said.
"Why did he pick my mother to kill? Why did he ever pick any of those
women?"
(source: Chicago Tribune)