Gone before her time

It has been some time now since Kristen French and others were brutally murdered by Paul Bernardo and his former wife Karla Homolka. A park was dedicated in Kristen's honour in her hometown of St. Catharines in 1993. We were there and we have some pictures of the very moving event and a short story we had written at the time.

According to police, Bernardo started out by raping women in the Scarborough area of Toronto, thus being dubbed the Scarborough rapist. His story ends after being caught for the kidnapping and murder of Kristen and Leslie Mahaffy. He and his wife were later charged with murdering Karla's sister Tammy.

Below are some of the pics we took at the dedication ceremony, followed by the story I wrote of the event. I was hoping my editor would run it in Parry Sound North Star, where I worked, but he said it didn't have enough local flavour. That doesn't matter, I enjoyed writing it, sort of my own personal tribute to her memory.

A young girl pays tribute to Kristen's memory.

Kristen's Principal Moe Charbonneau, left, was overcome with grief. Kristen's parents, Donna and Doug French, can been seen standing third and second from right.

Following is the story, word for word, that I had written at the time about the memorial service:

The unveiling of the granite monument dedicated to the memory of Kristen French was a tearful tribute attended by well over 400 people, including the girls' mother and father Donna and Doug French.

What was a happy event was also filled with grief, as tears flowed easily from many of those people there.

The atrocity of Kristen's killing occurred in Niagara Region, but as Doug French told the crowd, it is a tragedy that has affected people from all communities across the province, the country and the world. He thanked everyone for caring so much, and said Kristen's spirit lives in every one of us.

While Doug French spoke, a boat christened Kristen's Spirit sailed nearby. The boat was so named in her honour by her friends.

The granite stone in the park is about four feet tall, and bears the likeness of the slain girl who was 15 years old when she was murdered. The stone sits in the Green Ribbon Memorial Garden, in Jaycee Gardens in Kristen's hometown of St. Catharines.

The ceremony...was also attended by Kristen's step-brother Brian French, sister-in-law Rita French, Niagara Regional Police Inspector Ken Davidson, MPP for St. Catharines and former Minister of the Environment Jim Bradley, and Kristen's Principal Moe Charbonneau of Holy Cross School, who at times wept openly during the unveiling.

Chris Webb, past-president of the St. Catharines Jaycees, said that after kristen went missing, parents were not letting their children wander too far. "I held my own children's hands a little tighter...because things of this nature don't happen in St. Catharines. You felt fortunate that it didn't happen to you."

The monument was created at a cost of over $10,000, but local contractors would not take one red cent in payment. The granite cylinder is surrounded by a beautiful garden, walkway and benches. Ringing this are shrubs that willl in a few years grow to a height of about five feet, in effect creating an inner area where people can site and reflect in private.

Chris Webb said the idea was to have something permanent and everlasting, something "we could take our children's children to".

The stone reads: "Green Ribbon Memorial Garden. this memorial stands in memory of Kristen French and all missing children...When Kristen's life was taken, it was as if a living spark escaped and ignited a fire that brought an entire community together in love".

Even though they may have been too young to understand the full nature of what happened, young children also paid tribute to Kristen.

Niagara Regional Police Inspector Ken Davidson also spoke at the memorial service. Davidson was in charge of the Green Ribbon Task Force, which was created to find Kristen's killer.

A fitting tribute to a wonderful girl.