Rites set for ‘outspoken, outgoing’ gal
AS HEATHER HEYER’S accused killer appeared in a Virginia court Monday, her family was preparing for her funeral.
The 32-year-old paralegal, killed in Charlottesville on Saturday when a neo-Nazi crashed a Dodge Challenger into a crowd of counterprotesters, will be buried Wednesday, her stepfather told the Daily News.
Heyer’s stepdad, who did not wish to give his name, washed a black pickup truck in the Charlottesville suburb of Ruckersville instead of watching the news of James Fields’ court hearing.
“I just keep busy. That’s what I do, keep busy. Everyone handles things differently,” he said, adding that Heyer’s father was expected to arrive in Virginia on Monday.
Heyer died when James Fields, 20, mowed her down as she protested against a white nationalist rally, police said. The attack also injured 19 people. Fields was charged with second-degree murder and ordered held without bond following a hearing via video on Monday.
Charlottesville activist David Vaughn Straughn, 36, was standing just a foot away from Heyer when she was mowed down, he told the Daily News.
“I saw her body, badly hurt. She was bleeding . . . I screamed ‘Medic!’. . . They showed up right away,” said Straughn.
The day of mayhem began with a protest over the removal of a statue of Robert E. Lee from a park in Charlottesville. Two state troopers monitoring the protests died in a helicopter crash.
Heyer’s mother, Susan Bro, released a statement to NBC News thanking President Trump for condemning racists and white nationalists — an acknowledgment critics say came too late.
“Thank you, President Trump, for those words of comfort and for denouncing those who promote violence and hatred,” she said.