SALT LAKE CITY — Sept. 25 of each year is the National Day of Remembrance for Murder Victims, and a vigil was held on the south steps of the State Capitol for homicide victims in Utah.
For the first time in the history of the state, Utah broke 100 homicides in the year 2020.
Those who gathered Saturday shared the pain suffering that these families face.
“Everyone has something to deal with in their life. This is just a horrendous trauma that you can’t even imagine,” said Darcie Housley a mother of a cold case murder victim. "And you just don’t get over it.”
The memorial was put on by the Utah Homicide Survivors Group.
The turnout was a handful of families, all gathering to remember their loved ones, sharing stories of happy moments and the cases that they still face.
Many of their cases are still on hold because of the COVID-19 pandemic, so the wounds are still running deep.
Others are still unsolved with families wondering when they might ever find justice.
“It's never going to be better, it's never going to be easier, but they are going to have to figure out a way just to survive," said Brandon Merrill, the executive director of the Utah Homicide Survivors Group. "And so we are there for the long run.”
