Family and friends of murder victims held a day of remembrance Saturday in Scripps Poway to pay tribute to their loved ones.
River of Remembrance, held at Crime Victim Oak Garden, coincided with the National Day of Remembrance for Murder Victims, an annual event meant to focus on the impact murder has on families and communities.
Co-sponsoring Saturday's event, which lasted from 10 a.m. to noon, was the Survivors of Violent Loss Program and The Cara Knott Foundation.
Cara Knott was a young San Diego woman murdered in the area where Crime Victim Oak Garden sits and today the garden hosts the annual event.
At the ceremony, family and friends of murder victims were asked to paint a rock with the name of someone they lost and place it alongside others, thus creating a river of names of people lost to violent crimes. T-shirts were also painted with names and adorned several oak trees in the area.
River of Remembrance was created in part as way for families to express that they will never forget their loved ones lost to murder, according to event coordinator, Dayna Herroz.
"I think that's everyone’s biggest worry is that they'll be forgotten,” Herroz said. “We won’t allow that, they are not forgettable.”
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Julie Royal, who attended Saturday’s event, agreed.
Royal came to the event to mourn her 24-year-old daughter Brittany Jane and Jane's unborn child were murdered just three months ago.
"I just want people to know who she was,” said Royal, “and that she'll never be forgotten, even if she isn’t here with us right now.”
