jones trial | victim impact statements

8/17/2019 Jones Trial | Victim Impact Statements

1/8

This is a victim-impact statement from Edwin Stevens, Alice Stevens brother:

“This is what I want to remember.

There are too many good memories to name. Alice was a talented girl who

excelled in anything she wanted to do. Her talents included, but were definitely

not limited to, athletics.

I remember playing lacrosse in the backyard with her. Being the obnoxious,

older, teenage brother that I was, I continually reminded her how much more

physical and faster paced boys' lacrosse is compared to girls'. I playfully showed

off a few moves that are far easier to do with a boys' lacrosse stick, thinking

she'd never be able to compete with that. The next day, she scored in a gamewith the same fancy move and her coaches were bewildered as to how she

learned such a thing. She caught on fast.

She attended a high school that has many girls' varsity basketball state

championships. As a Freshman, she started at point guard along with muchlarger juniors and seniors. She played so well in a playoff game that the

television reporter said, on the air, "I'll get to the seniors, but first, I have to talk

to the freshman!" Alice had lit up the court with a plethora of 3 pointers that

day.

There are so many things I would like to have back, but here are a few that standout in my mind.

Alice was pronounced dead 5 days before my wife and I were pronounced man

and wife. I had worked tirelessly on courting my wife for 14 years - half of my

life to that point. What was surely going to be the happiest day of my life

became one of bittersweet agony. Although we tried to separate our new life

together from the horrific death of my sister, it was just impossible to achieve

that schism completely. I want that day back.

Alice had a very funny sense of humor. When she was 8 or so, I had been babysitting her and found her sleeping in her bed wearing a clown nose with a

hot water bottle on her head. Although my mother insists that I must have

dressed her up like that, I can tell you that I absolutely did not. It's just a small

example of how Alice would go to great lengths to brighten the day of others


2/8

around her. Instead of this joyful image, I am left with that of her lying lifeless

in a casket, only identifiable to me by the distinct tattoo on her arm.

Alice was such a great aunt to my brother's children and was looking forward to

being an aunt to mine. I regret that we never got to tell her that at the time of herdeath we were pregnant with our youngest son. He will never meet her. Theclosest he will get is sleeping with her old stuffed bear. Our older son only got

to meet her once on Christmas where she and Forrest very generously showered

him with gifts of toy trucks - His favorite thing. She affectionately referred to

him as "my little Mcnugget."

I want back the world where my family and I don't know such evil and horror

and where I'm not raising 2 amazing little boys within such a ghastly existence.

I want back the capacity to be the father and husband I should be, instead ofenduring the days where the loss of my beautiful, little sister still leaves me

paralyzed by grief.

When Alice was quite young she had a strange reoccurring dream of a mouse

eating ketchup in her bed. Not only was it a somewhat hilarious nightmare, but

it also made her wake up in a screaming panic. I want back the days where that

was the scariest thing in her, and all of our, lives.

But I will never get that back.”


3/8

Dear

udge

reesemann,

This s

myvict im

mpact

tatement

egarding

ase

umber:

CRI42379

or

Michael

onnta

Jones.

Forrest

asa

loving

erson

ullof

kindness

nd

humor.

He

was

a

prankster

ndalways

ound

a

way

o make

eople

augh.

h is

was

mpor tant

o h im

even

t

anear ly

ge.

One

example

as,

when

hewasa

kidhe

went o

a nice

estaurant

ith his

grandparentsearing

hose

ugly

ake

teeth

ouget

n Hal loween

ostumes

nd

waseat ing

i th

hem

on.

His

randparentsere

hear ing

eople

round

hem

say ing

i t

ooksike hey

ould

et

hat

poor

ids eeth

ixed .

memorable

oment

is

grandparents

i l l

never

orget .

ven

hen

ou

didn ' t

ee l

ike

par t ic ipat ing

n

someth ing

orres t

ad

a wayof

get t ingyou ot ivated

ndbeing

nvolved.

ne

example

as,

e

persuaded

s o

par t ic ipate

n he

v ideo

ame

ust

Dance.

eal l

ooked razy

t ry ing

o

dance

ut

we hada

great

ime

and h is

sanother

memory

e wi l la lways

ave.

Hewasa veryhardworker ndusual lye ld wo obsevenwhen n High chool .ome f hese

jobs

nt roduced

im o the

wor ld

f cook ing.

e

was he

oldest

f

3 sonshat

were3

years

apart

ach

n ageand

he aught

hem

a

lot about

being

ompetit ive

et

o

bea

good

sport '

They l l

p layed

igh chool

asebal l

ndwere

on he

wrest l ing

eam.

Hewonsevera l

wards

n

these

por ts .

hey ooked

p o h im

and earned

otabout

i fe

hoices

hrough

oing

hese

same

ports

ogether.

hey

were

competit ive

ven

when

playing

he

board

ame

Risko

putt

put t .

They

ave

otbeen

hesame

ince

his ragedy.

oth re

hur t

somuch

nd

notable o

open

pand

alkabout

t . Hopefu l ly

neday

both

wi l lbe

able

o

let he i r

ee l ings

eknown.

Nei ther

ereemot ional ly

b le o

come o

th is r ia l .

Forrest

as

a very ntel l igent

erson

ith a

lQof 1-42

nd

eceived

letter

rom

Mensa

tat ing

assuch. eappl ied ndwasacceptedo a chemicalng ineer ingrogramn Nor thCaro l inaut

af ter

nesemester

ropped

ut

o

pursue

is

pass ion

f

cook ing.

e

appl ied

nd

wasaccepted

to cu l inary

chool

n Nor th

Caro l ina.

e

was ops

n

his lass

nd

won

numerous

wards

n

cooking

nd

baking

ompetit ions.

orrest

oved

eing

chef

and

excelled

t

cooking

nd

bak ing.

is pec ia l ty

asFrench

uis ine.

ne ay

hecame

ome

wi th h is

smel ly

east

tar ter

for mak ing

read

nd

named

t d iesel .

t was

hebeginning

ngredient

or a

otof

h isaward

winning

reads.

ecame

o Savannah

ar t ly

o enhance

is ra f t

nd

iked

iv ing

ere.

t d idn ' t

take

Forrest

ongbefore

e

got

a sous

hef

posit ion

t one

of the

better

estaurants

n

Savannah

nd

began

moving

uickly

owards

working

n becoming

n

executive

hef.

His

dream

id

come

rue

and

many

eople

ere new

nd

oved

is

ook ing

nd

bak ing.

e

was

featured

n a

local

magazine.

e've

had

numerous

eople

ontact

nd

et us

know

hat Forrest

had

ouched

hei r ivesn somanyways.

We hink

of

Forrest

ai ly

nd ind

t extremely

if f icult

t

amily

unctions

uch s

birthdays,

holidays,

tc.

as hose

were he

imes

we cherished

he

most.

Last

ime

we alked

ewas

exc i ted

o beable

o come

ome nd

cook

hanksgiv ing

or us

as he

ast ouple

ears

ewas

not

ablebecause

f

work.

Hehad he

entire

meal

already

lanned

ut.

He

eally

ooked

orward

to

family

atherings

ike his.

Being

Chef,

orrest

ept ate

hours

nd

he

would

requently

al l


4/8

us

n he

ear ly

morn ing

ours

el l ing

sof

h isday

and

he

people

e

would

ook

or

or meet .

Most

parents

ate

o hear

f

ca l ls

t h is

imeof

he

morning

ut

we

cher ished

t

ashewas

ul l

o f

i feand

exc i ted

o

te l lus

of h is

day.

We ravel f ten o Floridaor vacationsndevery ime

get

near

Savannah

start

crying

ust

thinking

f

Forrest

nd he

evil

hing

hatwas

done

o him

here.

After

hese

rials

we

cannever

visit

his

cityagain.

t

is

ust

oo

painful.

cryevery

ime

see

a

chef n

hisuniform

ftera hard

days

work

hinking

nd

knowing

orrest

oved t so

much.

We st i l l

have ome

f

his

chefs

c lo thes

nd

a

ew h ings

e

ust

can ' t

eem o

let

go

of .

My

husband's

ob

requi res

im o

hi re

and

i re

people

nd

heof ten

wonders

hen

he i res omeone

s

his he

kind f

person

hat

would

ome

ack ndat tempt

o do he

same

hing

hat

happened

o Forres t .

t s

a lways

n he

back

f h is

mind.

No

words an

express

he

waywe

eel .One

ould

ever

nders tand

os ing

son

n h is

manner .

hadalways

een

here

or my

k ids nd

have

o

much

ui l t

or not

being

here or

Forres tnd av ing im rom hisev i l r ime.hur t and rybecausecannot peakto imand el l

h im

love

himand e l l

o f he

hings

isbrothers

as ccompl ished.

ou

ust

can ' t

magine

ot

being

ble

o

ta lk o

or see

our

son

mi le

r augh

ver

gain.

here

s

a

empty

ole

n

my

hear t hat

us t

can ' t e

i l led.

have

otbeen

ble

o s leep

t

n ight

sa

resul t f

h is .

Weare

compass ionate

eople

ut

o th is

dayhave

at red

nd

anger

o

the

people

hat

commit ted

his

ev i l

r ime.

My husband

nd have

xper ienced

inor

eal th

ssues

ue

o

the hear tache

nd

stress

f this

eviland

heart less

rime.

Mike ones

ad

no

right o take

he

ives f

Forrest

nd

Alice

ndshould

ever e

allowedo

l ive

reeagain.

ur

percept ions hat

hehas

o emorse

or h is

heinous

r ime

nd

we

request

l i fe

n

pr ison

i th

NO

chance

f

paro le

s

hedeserves

his

punishment

or

ak ing

he ives f

Forres tndAl ice. h iswasa ev i landheinousr imehatheknowinglyndwi l l ing lyommit ted.

He

sa ev i l

person

i th

NO

compass ion

or human

i fe .

Dur ing

his r ia l ,

ear ing

hat

hebragged

about

ommit t ing

his

cr ime

hows

e

has o

egard

nd

ompass ion

or human

i fe .

Last ly

want

o read

a text

Forrest

ent

o me

on May

12,2013

or

Mothers

Day.

his hows

he

love nd

ompass ion

ehad.

Mom,

I ove

ou

and

hank

ou

or

he

moral

uppor t ,

omet imes

ust

hear ing

hat

you

unders tand

y

pain

and

struggles

ives

me

he strength

need

o do

what

have o

do

n order

o truly

be

happy

nd

hat

personal

appiness

sn ' t e l f ish

t

a l l .

hank

ou

or every th ing

om

know

don' t ay

hank

ou

veryof ten

ut hank

ou

or

a l l he

guidancendal l hes t rengthhatyou

have

nst i l led

n

me.

wouldn ' t

e

he

man am

oday

wi thout

ou

n my

i femom.

ove

ou

Happy

Mothers

ay.

Sincerely:

Markand

Shel ia

ingham

Parents

f Forrest

son


5/8

This s

probably

onger

han

you

wont

o

hear

but I reallyhove

o soy hisbecouse o

onewants o hear

it

-

no

onewonts o knowhow

bodly

hurt

my

omily

hos

beenby Alice'smurder

ondhow we still

ore

deeply

grieving

or

her.

This s a

picture

f my daughter

l ice.This s

he image hat we

are ryingdesperately

o keep

in mindbecause

he

ast

ime we

saw

Alice

he

was ying n

a casketwith her

aceso misshapen

from the two

bullets

ired

direct ly nto her

head

hat

we

did

not recognize

er.

Almost

hreedecades gowe

got

a call

rom

an adoption gency

hat

we

wereaccepted

s he

adopt ive

arents

or

a b i rac ia l

h i ld ue o be

bornat he endof summer

989. My husband

and

were

ecstat ic swell

asour

younger

on. Hewas

3 T,

years

ld and reallywanted

a baby

sister.

For

monthsaswe

awaited he

birthof the

child,

my it t le

guy

was ol lowing

me around

saying,

l

reallywant

a sister"

"

Do

you

hinkwe

couldask hem

o

make

sure t is

a

gir l?"

I

am

tell ing

ou

hisbecausewant

you

o knowhow

muchwe wanted

and ovedAlice rom

the

momentwe learned

f the

possibi l i ty

f her

adoption.

And Aliceand herbrotherwere riends ndcompanionsrom dayone. He oved he roleof big

brother

ndshe

oved

im, ater

a l l ing im

her

hero. "

From

he ear ly

ays , e ook

care f

her. I

used o

put

Alice n

a

playpen

when

wantedher

o be safewhile had

something

o do.

Pretty oon would

hear

"EE-EE,

EE-EE"

hen he

scamperingf feet and

soon herewould

appearmy 4

year

o ldsonhold ing

p h is

s is ter ho was

smi l ing e l ightedly .

would

say,

I

wantedher

o be n here or

a few minutes"

And he

would say,

"But,

Mom,

shewanted

o

get

out " Theywere

great

buddies

s

you

canseehere.. . . . .

Al ice

died n he very

earlymorning

f

November

,201,3.He

was

scheduledo be married

5

days ateron November th. l t wasalmostpostponed ut because veryone ascoming n

from out-of-town,

he weddingwas

held. Alice

wassupposed

o be a bridesmaid.nstead,

he

was epresented

t the wedding

y a vase

of her avorite lowers.

Thatweekend

we had

a

wedding neday

anda

unera l

he

next

day.

Our

Al icewi th her

horr ib ly

is tor tedacewas

ly ing n he casket i th her

br idesmaid 's

ress

n andherbouquetn herhands.

Instead

f

having

honeymoon

nda

year

of the normal

adjustment

ssues

hat newlyweds

face,he andhis

bride

had

a

year

of

hell .

Theywere

n a verydark

place

he

wasso

sadabout

hissister ndshocked

bout his horrible

nd

senselessragedy nd hiswifewas

desperate

o

understand

nd

helphim

eel

better. l t continues

o torturehim hat his

beloved ister

ould

be ki l ledwith no more hought hanonegiveso swatt ing peskymosquito.Hehasbeen eft

with emotional

cars nd

physical

ssues.

heir

anniversariesi l l orever

be ingedwith

sadness

about

Al ice.

My e lder onwas20

years

lder

han

Al ice

ut washappy

whenshe

oined

ur

ami ly .

When

we visited im at col lege, e

had

great

un

pushing

er n

the strol ler andhe

called er he

"Chick

magnet"

because

ll he

gir ls

would

comeoverand

"oo

and

ahh"overher. Whenhe had

hisown family,he oved

eeing ow Alicehad

so much un

playing

ith

his

young

children. He


6/8

has

been ormentedby visions

f

Alice ying

herewith

bullet

holes n her

head

and

with

the

shockhat such v i l ou ld t r ike is ami ly .Hehas

he sav ing b i l i t y

o be able o

compartmental ize

o

he

purposely

iverts is

energy o

hiswork

or family

but

I wonder

what

the unshed earsand unspoken

rief

are

doing o

his

heartandblood

pressure

nd his

psyche.

My husbandovedhis hreesonsbut he was hri l led hat he now hada daughterwhenAlice

wasborn.

There

ru ly ssometh ing

pec ia l

bout he

ather-daughter

e la t ionship

ndAl ice

o

loved er

dad.

My

husband admul t ip le

eal th

roblems

nd

he

hadsurv ivedi fe- threatening

medical

r is is n several

ccasions.Henever

ried or himself uringhis

hreecancer

d iagnos is ,is

painfu l

reatments

nd

procedures ,

ishospi ta l izat ions

or

pneumonia

ut a t

Alice'suneral

ervice

e

was

sobbing which hadnever

eenbefore n

the 30

years

we had

been

married

and

gripping

my

hand

so ight ly thought t would

break.Afterher

death,he

became

uieter

and morewithdrawn

nd herewas

an awfulsadnesshat never eft his

eyes.

Six

months

afterAlicewas

soviciouslymurdered,

my husband as

admitted

o the

hospital

with a medical mergency.n he pasthewouldhaveand did ightagain ndagain o regain

hishealthno matterhow

diff icult

he struggle.

During hat hospital izat ion

n Apri l ,2014he

was i red,

depressed,nddishear tened

nd

s imply id not have

he

wi l l

o l ive. The

doctors

may

hink hat

he

died rom h is

medica l

rob lems

ut I knowhis

broken ear twas

a

contribut ingactor.

The mpact

f

Alice's

eathhas

affected verymember

of this amily. My

younger

randson

may be

oo

lit t le

o

feel

he

grief

but he wonders

why hisDaddy s

sadsometimes.He keeps

ask ing,

Where

sAuntAl ice?"

Hesawher

one

ime

and hen

never

gain.Tel lme how

o

answer 5

year

old's

question, Why

was

she

kil led?"

I have wo teenage randsons ho aregoing hrough he adolescentasks f trying o figure

out who they are,what

hey want rom ife,

what

hey

value.They

emember

nd

honor

heir

aunt by wearing er

ersey

number n

the various

ports hey are

nvolved

n.They

are bright,

sensit ive oysand

now

hey

arealsodealingwith

he loss nd ragedy

f the

vicious

murder

of

their aunt.

Their nnocence

as

beendestroyed

y hissenseless,vi l

act.

Do

heyseea bright

future or themselves

r do they wonder

what

s

he

point?"

when

you

get

ki l led or

doing

absolutely othing

s

Alicewas.

As or me,

am a brokenwoman.

emot ional ly ,

hys ica l ly ,

p i r i tua l ly ,ndmenta l ly . In

sp i te

of therapy,meditat ion,medicat ion,

pir i tual ounseling,

nd

prayers,

crippling

adness

remains .

Letme ell

you

about

a day n he l i fe

of a

grieving

mother. l t is

dif f icult o

get

out of

bed

n

the

morning | would ather

leep

l lday .

I

knew

his

wasnot heal thy

o adopted dog

abouta

year

ago.

Thatway

wouldhave

o

get

up to walk t

andout of the house

everalimesa day. I

wanted n o lddogs ince d idn ' t

h ink could eep

up wi th a

puppy.

The

dog hat appealedo

me was

a t inyChihuahua

over

L2

years

ldat

he

ime,

b l ind

n

oneeye,

ard

of hear ing, o

teeth,and

with l iver

problems... . just

y

speed. He haskept me

going

but even his s

so


7/8

bit tersweet

or me

becausehat s

ust

he kind

of dog hat

Alicewould

have oved

and

cher ished.

have

uch

ond

memor ies

f

her

asa smal l h i ld uddl ing

aby h icks nd

goats

t

my aunt 's

arm

andshe oved

alldogsandcats

the

moreneedy

and handicapped

heywere,

the

more

she

oved

hem.

I went o the grocery toreandstarted ryingwhen sawa ar of coconut i l - Al iceused o

rave

aboutcoconut i l evenbefore

t became

o

popular.

I comehome o a house i l led

with

pictures

f a smil ing l icewith her amily,

with the fun

imaginative

if ts

she

gave

us, he artwork

shecreated.

I

can

barely andle

ocial i tuat ions.t is

dif f icult

o

meet

new

people

nd

cannotbe n

groups

where here

s

a lot of laughter.

cannot

be around ighthearted

eople

nd

events

when

my

heart s

so sadand

heavy.

I am ortunate

o have

a

few

friendswho

understandhat I may

become ad uddenly

nd

need

o leave

brupt ly

r that to ta l ly vo id he i r

gather ings .

At night, go o sleep rying r I wakeup with nightmareselivinghe horrorAlicemusthave

fe l twhen

shesaw he

gunpointed

t her ,

o f her y ing

here

wi th

wo bul le tho lesn

herhead,

of

her

going

o the hospi ta l

sa JaneDoe

and

y ing

n he morgue

nknown, f her

dy ing lone.

I know

hat

Alicewasnot

perfect

ndour relat ionship

asstormy

at t imes. t remindsme

of a

bookwrit ten n 2002

aboutadolescent

ehavior

Get

out of my ife

but

f irst

could

ou give

me

and Cheryl r ide o

the

mall?"

t comforts

me o remember ow

shewantedme

o movenear

herwhenmy husband

ied.

Beside

missing

er

andbeing

physically

ickabout he horrible,

nprovoked iolence

he

exper ienced,

am soupset henever

ad he

oppor tun i tyo achieve er

goals .

Shehad

so

many a lents ndwe wi l lnever nowwhatshecould ave ccompl ished.erpar t icu lara lent

and

pass ion

ay n

work ing i th

young

t - r isk

h i ldren.Whi le n co l lege,

hewasa counselor

for hreesummers

t an enr ichment

amp or hese

hi ldren nd he camp eaders

aid hewas

like he

"piedpiper".

They

old me how

well

she

workedwith

the children nd how

hey

oved

and

istened

o her.

Sheevenestablished relat ionship

ith

an autist ic hi ld here. Alice

often

told me hat

she

elt ucky

o have

he

family

shedid

andshe

wanted

o help

otherswho did

not have he same

dvantages. hewas

compass ionatend oyal

nd

had

a warmand

generous

ature.

So

many

people

ave o ld

ushow k indand f r iendly

he

was.

Howcan

ever

accept hat his

good

human

being,my

daughter, ied or no reason

t al l?

l t hasbeen2 l ryears ince ermurder nd wish could e l lyou hat my days rebet ter , hat

memor ies

re

ess

ainfu l ;

hat

am heal ing. .but fee lworse

hanever .

am

no onger

umb

or

in

shock.

The eal i ty

as et n

andeach

ay

s

or ture. th ink have

een

hold ing

hings

together o hat I can

see

Alice's

murderers

aught ndconvicted

ut

now I

really eeno

future.

I have o keep eminding

myself

f the blessingsn my l i fe. I have

wo sonswho I love

and

who oveme,

our

grandsons,

ndsomesupport iveriends.

Butevenas

enjoy

un

imes

with

them,

my heart

hurts

and

my

eyes i l l with

tears hinking hat Alicewil l never

experience


8/8

these

good

imes

with

hoseof us

who love

her and

remember

he

fun

times

we

did

have

together. cryat

weddingshinking ow

beautiful

l icewouldhave ooked

n

her wedding

day.

Thescripture eadings t Churchmakeme cry becausehey alk of God's

oodness

nd

see

no

goodness

n my

daughter 'seath.When seea f r iendhold

her

daughter 'saby, th ink

that

Alicewil l neverhave hat and wil l never

hare

hat specialmother

daughter

bonding

experience verherchild. l t isa struggleo get hrougheachandeveryday.

Al ice

s

he one

who

diedbut mywhole ami ly nd have eenwounded ndwi l lnever e he

same.

PLEASE,

LEASE

o not ethimdo

his o another

amily.

jones trial | victim impact statements

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