Families of those killed in homicides assemble at Angel’s Park on Day of Remembrance

Evansdale, Iowa – “You find coping mechanisms, but you don’t… it doesn’t go away or stop.” On Wednesday, family members and friends came together to talk about loved ones who had passed away. It is a component of the National Day of Homicide Victims’ Memorial.

People visiting Angel’s Park, like Elizabeth Collins’ father, said it’s not often that they get to share their tale with others who get what they’re going through.

It has power as well. According to Heidi Maring, “We are the last to tell our loved one’s story and preserve their memory.”

Maring and a few others visit Evansdale’s Angel’s Park annually in remembrance of their deceased loved ones.

A park where every feature, including the gardens, gazebos, and benches, is honoring the victims of homicide.

They tell their stories when they are in that presence.

“You know that moment when you hold your child for the first time and count their fingers and toes while touching them and simply becoming mesmerized by their face?… Maring remarked, “I had to redo that, but only because I will never get to see him again.”

In remembrance of her 8-year-old son Anthony, who was murdered by her husband while she was speaking with them on the phone, Maring has a tattoo on her arm.

It never disappears. You simply figure things out; you have good and terrible days,” Maring remarked.

Some see this as an opportunity to share their story and the lives they have lost with others.

Drew Collins stated, “You have to keep following up with things and calling the police; if you don’t, it goes away.”

Elizabeth Collins, whose father is Collins, was abducted and murdered in 2012 along with her cousin Lyric Cook Morrissey.

Collins has never received justice or clarification.

He connects with families in similar circumstances a lot in order to offer them support.

Collins stated, “It’s just important for all these people to know they’re not going through it alone and they’re not alone.”