VANCOUVER, Wash. — Each year, Sept. 25 marks the National Day of Remembrance for Murder Victims. It's a chance for the families and friends of those lost tragically to violence to come together and remember how they lived.
Dozens of people gathered in Vancouver on Monday evening to remember their loved ones. The families of Meshay Melendez and Layla Stewart, and Brittany Thuney asked the National Women's Coalition Against Violence and Exploitation, known as NWCAVE, to host the candlelight vigil in Esther Short Park.
The families in attendance, bonded together by tragedy, also vowed to support the survivors who continue to live with unshakable grief.
Joseph, Brittany Thuney's father, remembered her as a "good soul" who loved people.
"She loved her daughter and she was looking forward to a really bright future," Joseph Thuney said. "(The vigil) is meant to be in memory of these incredible young people that were taken from us. They had incredible futures to live and now we're having to talk about their memories. That's hard."
"We have never hosted one before. We were asked by the families we represent," explained Michelle Bart, who leads NWCAVE. "We celebrated Layla's birthday this week. I can honestly say that I’ve never celebrated a little girl's birthday at the cemetery so that was really difficult. We’re going to get justice for both of them."
Among the crowd was Rachel Davis. Her sister, Jayme Dawn Morton, was found dead in a home in San Diego earlier this year.
"Her killer had kidnapped and raped another person, and tried to get that other person to dismember my sister's body," Davis said. "He was able to escape and alert police and the police came and arrested him."
She said events like this are important to families like hers.
"It gives us a place where we feel connected to a group that understands what we are going through," Davis said. "And helps us feel like we're not alone."