Families Of Tulsa County Homicide Victims Remember Loved Ones

Families who have had loved ones killed by murder or some type of violence remembered their loved ones Wednesday night.

The Tulsa County District Attorney’s office holds a tree decorating ceremony and candlelight vigil every year to make sure these victims are not forgotten.

This ceremony is so important to these families that many of them have been coming for years and some even drive in from other states.

They want to make their missing loved ones are honored during this time of year.

All of the Christmas trees are covered with pictures, ornaments, and keepsakes of Tulsa County homicide victims.

Jerry and Carmen Anderson are here to honor their son, Donnie Williams, who was found dead in 2021 from blunt force trauma.

"I left him at 10:30,” said Carmen. “Who would have imagined that would have been my last kiss? The next day, August the 29th, he was dead. Then, the next day, August the 30th, was his birthday. So I just have really, really been struggling."

Jerry says Williams would help make sure the kids in his neighborhood stayed safe on their walk to school.

"He would get up in the morning and walk them to school, make sure that they got there,” said Jerry. “He was trying to get the community together to get a van to drive the kids since they didn't have a thing."

Steve Kunzweiler, the Tulsa County District Attorney, says this is one of the most important events his office puts on- because it allows families who’ve gone through something similar to support each other.

“It's a sad event, but it's also an event that helps these family members know that they're not alone in the process,” said Kunzweiler. “I require all my prosecutors to be here because I want them to see what this is like."

He hopes people will come to Chandler Park to see the trees and think about all the lives taken too soon by violence.

"Take the drive out to Chandler Park,” said Kunzweiler. “If you care about your community, if you want to find a way to help uplift families or pray for them, come out here."

Jerry says he thinks about Donnie all the time, and it’s tough this time of year.

"It's been two years now, and the thing is, not knowing what happened,” said Jerry. “Still haven't got a lead on it, still haven't said what happened exactly. And that's been the hard part."

The trees will be at the Chandler Park Community Center for people to see until the end of the year.