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\u2018Party\u2019 isn\u2019t the right word, although there were cookies on this chilly December night, and ornaments and a white artificial Christmas tree that towered over the scene. Even \u2018ceremony\u2019 seems too proper and too final. \u2018Vigil\u2019 is probably the only word that comes close to explaining the 27-year-old tradition of Crime Stoppers of Houston to host the parents of murdered children and other surviving family members of homicide victims. The event gives them a chance to hang an ornament of their loved one\u2019s image in a ritual that is about many things at once \u2014 mourning the dead, honoring lost lives, and finding community in unimaginable grief.<\/p>\n
To an observer who hasn\u2019t known the pain these families have endured, a festive tree with branches sagging under the weight of more than 150 ornaments with portraits of endearing smiles, dimpled cheeks and shining eyes snuffed out by violence can seem haunting. But to the families, the collection of mini monuments on public display at the Crime Stoppers\u2019 building downtown is proof, and reassurance, that they\u2019re not suffering alone.<\/p>\n
The magnitude of the violent crime wave touching virtually every corner of Houston and Harris County cuts deeper than any statistics, charts, or criminology theory can convey. We see the headlines, we hear the tragic details. But we rarely stop to think about the grandmother who won\u2019t wrap tamales in the kitchen with her sisters this year or the little brother who won\u2019t unwrap his shiny new toy on Christmas morning.<\/p>\n
When Marisol Ramos hung a decoration with a picture of her brother, Ramon Jr. \u2014 arms folded self-assuredly in a pink button-down, a mustache framing his warm smile \u2014 her eyes scanned up to the branch above where a photo of Martha Medina dangled from a white ribbon.<\/p>\n
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\u201cI recognized her from the news,\u201d Ramos said. \u201cYou see the ornament and it\u2019s like, \u2018Oh I remember that story,\u2019 because there are so many stories on the news right now about people getting killed.\u201d<\/p>\n
The circumstances surrounding the deaths of Ramon Ramos Jr., 32, and Martha Medina, 71, are eerily similar, not only for their randomness but the failures of the criminal justice system that contributed to them.<\/p>\n
Ramon, an architect with the Harris County Department of Engineering, was struck and killed by a drunk driver<\/a> on the North Loop on Christmas Eve of 2020. This year, on the morning of Sept. 23, Martha had just picked up breakfast at a McDonald\u2019s on the east side, when someone snatched her purse, then drove over her<\/a> body in a black Impala, killing her. Both of the alleged perpetrators had criminal records and had been out on bond. The woman charged with striking Ramon was wanted on several felony warrants. The man charged with killing Martha was out on bond in connection to a previous capital murder charge in 2019. He was initially jailed on that charge but posted his $150,000 bond three months later.<\/p>\n Sitting at a table together, Ana, Ramon\u2019s mother, clenched the hand of Lourdes, Martha\u2019s daughter, as she tearfully recounted her son\u2019s warmth and generous spirit. A blue mask with Ramon\u2019s airbrushed portrait adorned her face.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n