The Morning Journal (Lorain, OH)
REMEMBERING VICTIMS
Lorain County Prosecutor’s Office dedicates Victim’s Memorial Mural
Family members of murdered victims squeezed in shoulder-to-shoulder with prosecutors April 3 to celebrate the dedication of the Victim’s Memorial Mural on the third floor of the Lorain County Justice Center, 225 Court St. in Elyria.
The mural is located in a narrow hallway on a wall outside the Lorain County Prosecutor’s Office. It’s made up of tiles decorated by those left behind after violent crimes.
The 110 white ceramic tiles were decorated with markers and paints in a myriad of colors and framed in wood.
Some expressed wishes for the deceased or Bible verses.
“We worked so hard on this and i’m just so excited about it. Words can’t say what it means to me.”
— Victim Services Director Kathy Rednour-Esser
Many appeared to be decorated by children with multicolored squiggles and a few simply bore the initials for rest in peace or rest in heaven with a name.
Speaking during the dedication in front of about two dozen people of all ages, Victim Services Director Kathy Rednour-Esser said the office was kicking off Victims’ Rights Week, which runs April 2-8, with the dedication of the wall.
The tiles were decorated at the 2016 iteration of an annual event the office holds at the end of Victims’ Rights Week.
Rednour-Esser said the wall was the brainchild of Lynette Burgess, whose mother Dorothy Spencer was murdered 41 years ago in Wakeman. Spencer’s family received justice in 2015, after her cold-case was re-opened and a jury convicted Bobbie New of the 1976 crime. He is serving 15 years to life in prison for murder.
“This is the happiest day I’ve had in five years,” Burgess said holding back tears. “This is here, not just because of my mother, but the other families, too.
“We worked so hard on this and I’m just so excited about it. Words can’t say what it means to me.”
Ken Hoholski’s daughter, Catherine Hoholski, was murdered in 2012.
In February 2016, Albert Fine pleaded guilty to the 2012 murder of Catherine Hoholski and was sentenced to life in prison on murder charges.
Ken Hoholski said the tiles are representative of the feelings of each family that decorated one.
“Some that have suffered a loss recently, may seem dark and gloomy, and that’s OK,” he said. “But there are others that you’ll see here that people did that have been going through this process for a very long time, and theirs are lighter and more hopeful.
“What that shows is that with help and support, we can all get through this stronger than we were when it started. With this dedication, I hope as people walk by and read these tiles, they draw strength to continue on with whatever struggles they may have in their life.”
Lorain County Prosecutor Dennis Will said the mural is the product of the families, and is just part of an effort the office began five years ago to change how they deal with a victim’s family.
“We wanted them to be more involved with the process,” Will said. “We’ve gone a long way in five years. We now have a support group, we also have the memorial tiles that we dedicated here today, and I think it’s going to move forward.
“While it’s not the last step in the process, it’s at least a conclusion of the first step.”
Morning Journal photographer Eric Bonzar contributed to this report.