DARKJESTER'S BLOG

DarkJester

Remembering Kari
Sunday, April 24, 2005

Kari was my cousin, sort of. Her aunt and uncle were also my aunt and uncle. Truth be told, I barely remember ever meeting her, once or twice at extended family picnics. Plus, she was almost 13 years younger than me, just a kid.

14 years ago, Kari was 16, and a sophmore at a local Christian high school (the same one I graduated from). She and a girlfriend were driving home from the local YMCA in different cars when they were separated at a crossing by a train, a very common occurance in northern Indiana. Her friend, rather than wait for the train, drove 1/4 mile to an underpass, went under the train, and returned to the other side of the crossing. Kari wasn't there, so her friend just drove home, figuring that Kari had done the same. But Kari hadn't. Police found her car two days later, abandoned in an alley. They found her naked body, bound and strangled, a week after that in the woods in a county park.

For weeks the rumors flew. Her boyfriend did it. She had witnessed a drug transaction, and had to be silenced. Gang members from Chicago had come down to have fun with a random victim. And so on.

Questions were asked, but no arrests were made. Leads were few, police said, and as the months then years passed, we began to doubt there would ever be a resolution.

Last week, out of the blue, the local press announced that police were finally ready to issue a warrant for the arrest of a suspect. And they'd have no trouble serving it, because they knew right where the suspect was. He's in California, serving consecutive life sentences (with no possibility of parole) for rape, murder and assault. He had been in our area at the time, on parole for one of three previous sexual assault convictions.

The Indiana State Police cold case unit had been called in about a year ago, and they pieced together the evidence. Since she was abducted in-town, and her car was found in-town, the city police handled that angle as an abduction. Since her body was found in a county park, the county Sheriff's department handled the murder/rape aspect of her case. And the two did a lousy job of sharing evidence, apparently.

But now what? Yes, her family finally has some measure of closure. And yes, we are relieved to know that this "person" (using the term lightly) is behind bars, and will be for the rest of his life, never able to harm another young woman. He will probably be brought here to stand trial for Kari's rape and murder, but it's not like we can add anything to his punishment. And if I know anything about my aunt and uncle, they are praying for their niece's killer, for his psychological healing, not for vengance. We Mennonites can be funny that way.

So what is the point of this, my first blog anywhere? Her/my school has a garden named in her honor, and her parents set up a scholarship in her name. I guess this is my memorial to Kari.

COMMENTS

Monday, April 25, 2005 5:48 AM

STARRBABY


I'm so sorry you had to go through such pain and uncertainty for such a long time. I'm very glad that your aunt and uncle are at such peace with themselves and others to be able to pray for your cousin's killer. You and your family will be in my thoughts.


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