Twelve years ago, Julie Kibuishi and Sam Herr were both brutally murdered.
Twelve years ago, the Kibuishi and Herr families were forever changed in the worst possible way.
Sam Herr should be 38 years old now. Perhaps he would have become an officer in the Army. He might have been married. It’s quite possible Steve and Raquel Herr would be grandparents now.
Julie Kibuishi should be 35 years old. Julie was extremely talented and creative. Maybe she would be a successful fashion designer. She might have been married. Perhaps she would have been a mom.
These kinds of thoughts probably fill the thoughts of Sam’s and Julie’s loved ones on a regular basis, but on this day, on the day they were taken away, the pain must be overwhelming.
Writing this blog, writing my book (we’re nearly finished), certainly doesn’t make me blind to the horrible results of my friend’s selfish and cruel actions.
My sympathies go out to both families on this tragic anniversary.
When going through the old stories, I see that close to the time of the brutality, everyone had friends and families that they were in contact with. Julie was very popular and had no shortage of family or friends. Sam, likewise, had many friends. People had commented in the past and in retrospect of being a friend or acquaintance of Rachel.
Dan seemed to only have his brother, Tim, during this time. After Dan was in custody, he had you, a pastor, and his mother, although there could be other people who have not been mentioned. No real relationships with Dan are mentioned before the murders, aside from Rachel, Tim, and the people Dan killed. Do you know of other people in Dan’s life?
Is Daniel Jewish religiously or ethnically do you know?
Rachel is now married to Brian Elliot. They met at Medieval Times. Makes you wonder how long they were…together.
I’m sure you (blog author) won’t read or reply to this since it’s not blindly supporting your post— no matter it is not meant for you.
The idea of being “special” is alluring to everybody. But what makes somebody special? Doing something uncommon seems to be lowest common denominator. In this case, the author thinks “Me not famous, but me know someone famous”, and like a bird to a shiny rock she flocks to “Pat” in hopes her own life can take on some meaning. Basking in the outer edges of his limelight, she feels like finally she’s not just another nobody.
Out of this whole case, I find Sam and Julie to be by far the most intriguing and compelling characters. The unlikely friendship struck up between the war-hardened softie and the bright, compassionate creative reminds me of why life can be beautiful. The capacity for people to good and create beauty is a slap in the face of a universe that is chaotic and indifferent to senseless cruelty.
I’ll give you a hint to why your attempts to “philosophize” on the nature of “Pat” keep falling so obviously flat. THERE IS NOTHING OF SUBSTANCE TO BEGIN WITH. He did it because he felt like it and probably wanted money, simple as as that. There is no deeper reason and this makes him less interesting than a brick wall—Destruction is trivial; creation is a miracle.
This story still makes me sad, seeing bad things happen to good people. But that’s the crux of it too. I feel sad because Julie and Sam are the folks that make life worth living. And knowing that people like them are out there at least makes me believe in something.