Sixty-seven homicide victims in St. Mary’s County going back as far as 1973 were remembered Sunday at the 11th Annual Silent Angels Memorial at the Bay District VFD social hall.

The Silent Angels Memorial was established in 2002. According to its mission statement, “It is our goal to bring families together with a memorial that will provide comfort and support to the survivors of homicide.” The memorial is a partnership with the Bureau of Criminal Investigations, which is a combined investigative unit of personnel from the St. Mary’s County Sheriff’s Office and the Maryland State Police.

During the ceremony the 67 names were read and an angel ornament was placed on a lighted Christmas tree with the victim’s name inscribed on it along with the date that they became a “Silent Angel.” The ornaments were placed on the tree either by members of the surviving family or students from the College of Southern Maryland Criminal Justice Program acting as surrogates. The ornaments were handed to each presenter by the memorial’s founder, Eileen Bildman.

Among the ornaments placed on the tree was one for Stephanie Roper, who was murdered in St. Mary’s County in 1982. In her daughter’s honor Roberta Roper founded the Stephanie Roper Committee which was a leader in victim’s rights reforms in Maryland.

Before the ceremony Maryland State Police Leonardtown Barrack Commander Lt. Michael Thompson noted he had seen a lot in his 21 years with the agency. “I have witnessed tragic and senseless loss from homicides.” But he said neither law enforcement nor the general public should become used to it. “I reaffirm my commitment to you that the Maryland State Police and the sheriff’s department will collectively work to prevent what happened to you from happening again.”

St. Mary’s County Sheriff Tim Cameron repeated a recent statement from U.S. Attorney general Eric Holder that any homicide “diminishes the entire community.”  He thanked the survivors, friends and loved ones of the victims who gathered at the event. He said of the ceremony, “I hope we have provided a sense of closure for such an unimaginable loss.”

At the ceremony it was announced that donations will be made to the Family Violence Center in Hollywood and the Ladies and Gentlemen’s Club in Dameron

A new website has recently been created for the Silent Angels Memorial. It can be viewed at http://thesilentangels.org/


<!–

–>