Updated 07/30/2007 06:51 AM
Vigil honors slain pregnant woman
The vigil Sunday honored each of six people who lost their lives to violence last month in Raleigh.
RALEIGH -- In the shadow of the convenience store where 22-year-old Jenna Nielsen lost her life last month, family and friends found consolation Sunday remembering the life she lived -- and the life she carried -- during a vigil.
“I think about it every single day,” said Nielsen’s husband, Tim. “I contact the police every single day, 'is there anything new, is there anything you can tell us.'"
He said police cannot tell them much right now about who killed his wife as she delivered newspapers to a convenience store on Lake Wheeler Road. Jenna Nielsen was eight months pregnant when she was found dead behind the store.
"We have one goal right now, and that's to catch a killer,” said Nielsen’s father, Kevin Blaine. “This is about the community, and the community should know there's still somebody out there on the loose. Everybody needs to be vigilant and look for this person because if he'll do it to my pregnant daughter, he'll do it to anyone."
Vigil organizers said Nielsen was one of six people who lost their lives to violence last month in Raleigh. Their vigil Sunday honored each one, including 30-year-old Demarkos Eugene Alan Thorpe. His girlfriend, Gwendolyn Thompson, told the crowd about her struggle to cope, while his mother listened.
"He was sitting in a car, a guy came out and just started shooting,” Thompson explained. “Demarkos was hit twice. He tried to drive himself to the hospital, he ran into a utility pole."
Friends and family hope police will be able to find the person responsible for the death of the 22-year-old pregnant woman.
She added, “when the EMS crew and the police came up they thought it was just a car accident. And then they found out he was shot, and he died at the hospital.”
The crowd lit a candle for Jenna Nielsen and her unborn son Ethen. As police turn to the public for help, so does her family. They organized a vigil earlier this month, and a benefit concert last weekend. They hope it helps catch a killer.
"That's what we want to do, keep it up,” Nielsen said. “As long as there are phone calls coming into the police department, all we're waiting for is just one phone call."
The group "Vigils Against Violence" helped organize Sunday's vigil. They meet once a month to remember Raleigh's homicide victims.