'Grief is a lonely thing' – Henrico homicide vigil remembers victims

Dozens of families and friends of people who lost their lives to homicide gathered Tuesday night at Henrico's Western Government Center to recall those they had lost, during an annual vigil for homicide victims organized through the Henrico Commonwealth's Attorney's Office's Henrico County Victim/Witness Assistance Program.

As Henrico Commonwealth's Attorney Shannon Taylor, other officials and family members spoke to the dozens of people gathered at the ceremony, images of 258 area homicide victims were projected onto a screen behind the podium.

“This is an opportunity to come together and be with other families who've been impacted and who have gone through a trauma, an event that no one could ever imagine unless you would actually experience it,” Taylor said.

Taylor thanked members of the Henrico Police Division, who she praised for their professionalism while responding to calls on patrol and to their efforts comforting families of the victims, “conveying that they’re trying to do everything we can to bring some type of peace to the situation.”

Taylor also applauded attorneys in her office who work alongside the detectives putting cases together, holding perpetrators accountable and sensitively bringing families through a process to feel some sense of closure – which hopefully, as she put it, results in the conviction of the perpetrator of the homicide.

'It felt like a nightmare'

The annual candlelight homicide vigil in the courtyard outside the parking garage at Henrico County’s main government center has taken place on the first Tuesday in December, in spite of the chilly temperatures, for the past 34 years. 

Visual and spoken presentations by family members with poetry and prayers by clergy, gave the event both concrete, conceptual and spiritual impact.

Last year saw 23 homicides in Henrico County. At the recent State of the County event, Henrico County Police Chief Eric English said that that number plummeted to just two in 2025 – a 90.4% decline in homicides and part of a 12% reduction in total crime since 2024.

Sierra Smith-Bond, the cousin of Shante Jones (who was murdered on Jan. 1, 2023) said Jones' murder changed her life forever.

“In that moment, it felt like a nightmare,” Smith-Bond said. “Nothing prepared me for this moment, and nothing would ever. There is nothing that will ever be able to replace her. She leaves behind two children, one daughter who will grow up without a mother or father, as her father was murdered even before she was born.”

“I also feel a deep ache knowing that they will never feel her love, her joy or her compassion. That's the reality we live. Senseless gun violence, especially domestic violence, does not just take a life, it shatters every life connected to it. It has a ripple effect.”

She now watches and worries over her family as they navigate grief no parent should ever endure, she said, as many battle depression, anxiety and mental anguish.

Impacted by domestic violence

After the speakers, family members of homicide victims approached the podium to state their names and their relationships to those they were close to who lost their lives, and then walked back to a tree decorated with holiday lights, to hang a wooden heart with their own written message to or about their loved one.

Rosanne Fletcher, a mother whose daughter, Sara Rose Fletcher, was murdered by her husband in 2021, walked up to the podium with her grandson, David, who exclaimed: "I love my mom."

Fletcher spoke at an October Domestic Violence Awareness Month panel at the Henrico County Government Center about her struggle with the violent situation her daughter faced, to draw attention with other survivors to the issues and red flags she saw but did not understand.

In Henrico County in 2024, there were five domestic violence related homicides. This year, there have been 620 domestic assault and battery arrests, which are down from 816 in 2024.

Henrico Police Assistant Chief of Police Lauren Edwards attended the vigil to support the survivors and the victims, including fellow police officers.

'We miss him dearly'

At a table on the side of the plaza, photos of homicide victims covered displays.

Cleveland Johnson, the father of Keyon Cle Johnson (a 14-year-old who died in a car crash outside of Hermitage High School in 2023) found the photo of his son in the display.

“He was a great kid. He loved football, love eating his mama’s cooking. He loved going on trips and cruises,” said Johnson. “We miss him dearly. A day don’t go by I don't think about it.”

His son’s death impacted him emotionally.

“Some days I don't know if I'm going or coming," said Johnson, who finds support staying close to his family. “It's just rough. I go to the cemetery every other day. I live my life for him.”

Shakim Woodberry held a photo of his daughter, Shanice Woodberry, who was killed in 2019 at the age of 22 in Shockoe Bottom, when an enraged person drove her car into a crowd injuring eight people, including his daughter fatally.

Woodberry started a group called F.A.C.T.S. RVA together with Lawrence Robinson, whose daughter At’Taysiyah Jeannette Dye Robinson died after being given a lethal drug overdose.

F.A.C.T.S. stands for Fathers Advocating Community Teamwork Solutions with the tagline “a brotherhood united by loss, committed to hope.” The group aims to helps men who are expected to be stoic, as they go through great tragedy.

“I told him my pain. And he told me his pain,” Woodberry said. “We see how everybody’s week was. We tell each other: Protect your peace. Love your freedom. We need a brother that can bring you back, that can say words to you to touch your heart because he knows your feelings.”

He said the fellowship lifts a lot of weight off its members’ shoulders.

“I was a pallbearer. I had no time to process any of this stuff, because for 36 days I had to look for her,” Robinson said of his daughter, who went missing for a month before she was found in her car.

Woodberry and Robinson said being there for each other at regular meetings and life cycle events as well as attending the homicide victims’ vigil and speaking out at other events can prevent more loss and tragedy.

“There’s a lot of people lost because someone got angry, couldn't control their anger,” said Woodberry.

Showing up after the funeral, after the phone calls and visitors stop, Robinson said the group helps fathers get past shock, anger and sadness, until he gets to acceptance. 'Rather than become bitter, we're going to become better' is a key theme of healing for the group, along with teamwork and finding solutions and interventions to violence.

'Grief is a lonely thing'

Tariq Williams said he was grateful for the support from Henrico County Victim/Witness Assistant Program services during the many stages leading up to the trial and sentencing of the person who killed his son, Tagi Williams.

Williams was a 17-year-old Henrico High School football player who was murdered on Christmas night in 2022, the victim of an attempted robbery.

Victim/Witness services representatives reach out to a family after a detective is assigned to a case and explain the Virginia Victims Fund, which can assist with funeral expenses and reimbursement. The office also notifies families of all the court dates.

When an alleged perpetrator is arraigned, Victim/Witness services officials notify families if they file for a bond hearing. They also explain what the charges are and brings families in for meetings and prepares them for court.

Amidst the turmoil that Williams and his family were going through, he found the F.A.C.T.S. brotherhood of other fathers who lost children.

“It's been a very beneficial situation to me to connect with people that can relate to what I'm going through," said Williams, who was carrying a photograph of his son in his yellow football uniform. “These men share the same type of pain. It's an open situation where you can have a safe space to truly talk about your emotions without judgment. The camaraderie is the strength of the group. It's therapeutic. Grief is a lonely thing."

Williams said that coming together as a community to meet and talk helps him see that he is not the only one going through his anguish – and that he can make it through, too.

“There's nothing that can ever bring back the traumatic loss when it comes to homicide,” said Shelly Shuman-Johnson, Henrico County Victim/Witness Assistance Program director. “Somebody intentionally killed these people's loved ones. That's why this is important, especially during the holidays when everybody's celebrating, they want you to remember that they've lost someone special.”

The tree and the hearts will remain up at Henrico's Western Government Center through the New Year's holiday.

Dina Weinstein is the Citizen’s community vitality reporter and a Report for America corps member, covering housing, health and transportation. Support her work and articles like this one by making a contribution to the Citizen.