Merced holds ceremony to remember crime victims

MERCED, Calif. (KFSN) -- Name after name, each person who stepped up to receive a card to hang on a tree in Merced's Courthouse Park represents a person killed at the hands of a criminal.

"I always send the notes to my boys, letting them know that I miss them. And I love them. And I thank them for being my sons," said Marylene Riley.

Her sons were killed 16 and 17 years ago.

She never misses this Victims' Rights Ceremony, a yearly occasion for many of the families here.

"It's been really hard, especially watching his son grow up without his dad, knowing he only got two years with his son has been really hard," Mellissa Valentine.

The Valentine family comes every year for Richard Valentine, who was killed nearly ten years ago.

"This is definitely not a group we would belong to, but we're grateful for this group," Valentine said.

For some people, like Victoria Lopez, it was a first though next week will mark four years since her pregnant daughter, Tatyana, was shot and killed in Merced.

RELATED: Arrest made in deadly shooting of 19-year-old pregnant woman

"I was never able to hold my granddaughter. She was never able to hold her baby," Lopez said.

Lopez describes the feeling of losing a child, something she says no parent wants to experience but a feeling many in attendance can relate to.

"It's a feeling of having a heavy weight, but feeling so empty at the same time," Lopez said.

The Valentines got justice years ago as Richard's killer is in prison. But the pain remains.

Other families are still waiting.

"I'm still waiting to get justice. Going on four years, we're still waiting for justice," Lopez said.

Side-by-side, hand-in-hand, the people gathered under the tree in Courthouse Park Wednesday are forever bonded in their mission to keep their loved ones' memories alive.

For Victoria Lopez, her daughter's suspected killer is awaiting trial, but for other families, their loved ones' cases are unsolved.

This group comes together every year, a club none of them wanted to join, but they lean on one another to get through the tough times.

For news updates, follow Nic Garcia on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.